Heart of a Butterfly
by Prince Arjuna
Summary: Aigis, Shadow Operative Number 5 and an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, was sent to Kuoh Academy by Mitsuru to investigate Shadow activity around the area. Little did she know what kind of chaos awaited her there as she got herself involved in the conflicts of three biblical factions. When in doubt, activate Orgia Mode. CHAPTER 21: RAGING BULL
1. Electric Dream

_"The wind feels so nice..."_

_I couldn't describe this feeling well, because it was my first time experiencing such a feeling. Before that particular incident at the bridge, I was just a machine, a tool to be used against Shadows, a weapon to be wielded in the battles. The old me would never experience such a feeling._

_"This is my first time experiencing spring."_

_I looked down, and my eyes met a pair of steely grey pupils, which belonged to a blue-haired boy, whose head was resting on my lap. Those eyes of his seemed tired, and yet I could see that he was in peace. I was a little concerned and a little anxious because considering that I was not a human being, my thighs were too hard to be comfortable for him to put his head on. But from his peaceful expression, I could see that he didn't mind at all._

_I looked up again and saw flower petals fluttering in the air. The warmth in the air brought comfort into me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying this sensation._

_"But, this season will eventually pass..." I said. Then, I looked down again, and once again, our eyes met. "After fighting alongside you, and facing the world's end, I finally began to understand what it means to live." I smiled as I brought my hand to his face, brushing his blue hair aside. In return, he gave me a tired smile._

_His face seemed awfully pale and was very tired. It was probably due to the fact that he managed to save the world with that mysterious power of his. After everything that he had done, he deserved a well-earned rest._

_"Thinking for yourself, not running away..." I remembered the time when I fought alongside him, facing overwhelming odds and ultimately winning. Not once did I see him turning his back against our opponents, unless for the sake of our teammates. Not once did he show any signs of cowardice, as we faced the manifestations of humanity's darkest thoughts. "Accepting the inevitable..." As we were presented with the impossibility of resisting against Death, we saw him standing up against it. "All things eventually come to an end..."_

_It was an undeniable truth. No matter how we live our lives, in the end, only Death matters._

_"Every living thing will one day disappear. Only by accepting this can one discover what they truly want, what the meaning of their life will be..."_

_I shut my eyes, feeling something surging within me. Was this because of my realization I was feeling such thing?_

_"I understand now why I was so tormented by my lack of strength," I noticed the crack in my voice as I said that. "Protecting others became more than just an order I had to obey." I could see my hand tremble as I brushed aside his blue locks. "I wanted to do it for my own reasons. I realized this once I decided to try and prevent the Fall. When I thought I might never see you again, something else became clear to me – what I wanted most."_

_And at that moment, I realized something fell onto the back of my hand, something wet and warm. At first, I thought it was raining, but soon I realized that it was something else entirely._

_Trying to ignore the sensation I felt in my chest, I continued. "And so, I made up my mind." More of it fell onto my hand, and then onto his face. I also felt it in my eyes, and it refused to stop. "I decided that I would continue to protect you. I want to be your strength. I know I'm not the only one who can do this... but that's okay. My life will be worth living if it's for this reason..."_

_Tears unbidden, as our eyes met again, I smiled as I choked back a sob._

_"Thank you..."_

_It was strange. I knew that I was designed to have this one particular function, but it was to clean my optic lenses, which were my eyes. Even so, the tears refused to stop as I felt a feeling very strange to me, but never unpleasant._

_And then, he brought up his hand, wiping away my tears with his fingers. Those steely, grey eyes were filled with concern. With a soft voice, he spoke to me as he swept away my tears._

_"It'll be okay..."_

_From his voice alone, I knew that he was very tired. Even so, he was more concerned about me than himself._

_"You're right. What am I doing?" I said, holding his hand that tenderly touched my face as he wiped away my tears. "I understand now, so I should be happy..." I was grateful and happy that it was him who saw me like this._

_As he comforted me while I was crying, we heard a familiar voice, and then footsteps. It appeared that others might have regained their memories of what we had gone through together. Soon, we would be surrounded by everyone, and I wanted him to see their smiles. I wanted him to know that we were never alone._

_"I realize now that I have friends as well." I stroked his face as I said that. "You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes, all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of." With renewed conviction and determination, I continued. "I'll keep on living no matter what, so that I can protect you."_

_The sounds of footsteps became closer._

_"Thank you for everything..."_

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 01: Electric Dream**

Slowly, she opened her eyes. A couple of wires were connected to her body as she sat on her capsule seat, which she used whenever she wanted to recharge herself or to sleep. Soft humming sounds could be heard from the machineries around her. She looked left and right. There was no one around her in this place, which was a laboratory that was used as her maintenance room.

"A dream..." she spoke softly before she moved her hands and disconnected herself from the wires attached on her body. It was strange, she thought to herself. Whenever she was sleeping, she would be put into 'sleep-mode', in which she was disabled from every one of her functions, so it should be impossible for her to experience dreams. There were times when such things brought confusion to her, as well as a couple of scientists monitoring her, but now she decided that she wouldn't have to make a big deal out of it.

Getting up from her capsule seat, she walked towards a mirror placed on the wall not too far from her. She blinked several times as she looked into her reflection. Besides a few minor changes, her appearance was still the same as how she looked a few years ago. As she examined her face, she noticed something on her cheek.

"Hmm?" She brought her hand to her cheek, and from her sense of touch, she learned that it was some kind of liquid that came from her right eye. It was probably when she was sleeping when the liquid that was usually used to clean her optic lenses leaked out. "Did I cry when I was sleeping?" The mechanical maiden muttered to herself as she continued examining her feature.

Then, she remembered the dream she was experiencing a while ago. It's been a while since the last time she experienced such a dream. Just remembering that dream brought some kind of nostalgic feeling into her.

Shaking off the feeling, she turned around and went to her wardrobe, opening it to reveal dozens of similar-looking clothing. She recalled the time when she was together with everyone in SEES, in which she had no other clothing other than her school uniform. It seemed that she was more comfortable wearing her black suit, the one provided to her by one of her friends. Taking one of the suits, she put it on herself. Then she put on a pair of specialized shoes for her fake feet. She needed to put on those shoes so that she could appear as a normal person instead of being an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

The battle maiden sighed. She had already accepted the fact that she wasn't human, so she had to make the best out of it. Considering that she was, in fact, a machine that was incapable of dying, she would be able to live forever. With that, she would be able to use her powers to make this world, the world that he had saved, into a much better place.

After making sure that she was well-dressed, she stepped out of the laboratory, only to be greeted by the sight of a red-haired woman. "Ah..." she stepped back and bowed to the red-haired woman. "Good morning, Mitsuru-san."

The woman, Mitsuru smiled. "Good morning, Aigis. Though I should mention it's now 1 p.m."

"1 p.m.?" Aigis blinked a few times before she checked her database. As a battle gynoid, she had many features built within her, including clock and timer. "Ah. I overslept."

Mitsuru nodded as she folded her arms under her chest. "Yes. Even so, it has to be expected, considering that you were badly damaged at that time, back at Inaba. It took two days for you to be completely repaired."

"Oh." Aigis said, looking at the leader of the Shadow Operatives. Unlike before, the Kirijo wasn't wearing her tight catsuit and thick coat combo which made her stick out like a sore thumb, but instead, she was attired in a rather relatively normal clothing; a black jacket with double breast pockets and a pair of white riding pants, as well as a pair of boots. The key word here was 'relatively' because even though those articles of clothing were usually normal, when Mitsuru was wearing them, she still stood out.

Mitsuru eyed the mechanical maiden suspiciously. "Do you have anything to say, Aigis?"

"Am I allowed to give you my honest opinion regarding your choice in clothing, Mitsuru-san?" Aigis spoke, this time in her robotic tone. The red-haired woman frowned.

"No, you may not…" Mitsuru responded. She already knew Aigis very well to notice the time when she, by the words of other members of the Shadow Operatives, started acting like a smartass.

"Understood," Aigis nodded. "What did I miss when I was sleeping?" Her tone reverted back into her natural one, indicating that she had stopped, as one Junpei Iori would put very well, snarking.

"Well, you didn't miss much. Yukari and Amada went back to study at college and school respectively. Akihiko somehow disappeared, probably going to continue his training regiment. Iori returned to his work as a coach, and Labrys was sent to one of our labs for further tuning." Mitsuru explained to Aigis.

"How about Fuuka-san?" Aigis asked.

"Ah, about her, she volunteered to be your part-time handler. Yamagishi was concerned about your condition, so she offered to be the one to fix your damaged parts." Mitsuru said.

"I see. I should thank her once I meet her again, I suppose," Aigis said. "By the way, Mitsuru-san, what brought you here?" She asked. "Do you need something from me?"

"About that…"

* * *

"Shadow activity?" Aigis' brow furrowed into a frown after listening to what Mitsuru had said. "After everything that happened during Golden Week., are you sure?" Both Aigis and Mitsuru were currently in Mitsuru's office.

"Yes." Mitsuru nodded. "Our detector picked up the signal, and the reading was abnormally high. So much that it couldn't be considered a minor activity. I even asked Yamagishi to use her Persona to double-check to confirm it, and we were not mistaken. Without a doubt, there is Shadow activity out there, and I want you to observe it."

"Observe?" Aigis tilted her head.

"Yes, observe," Mitsuru said. "Considering that we still don't know anything about this place, I just want you to observe, or rather, to investigate this matter." Then, the red-haired woman sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "And we are terribly undermanned at the moment. Akihiko somehow disappeared, and we can't just ask Yukari or Amada to suddenly show up to assist you, and Labrys is still undergoing tests. I also have a lot of things to deal with here," she gestured at the stack of papers on her desk, "so I'm afraid that you have to go alone for the time being, and you have to do a little reconnaissance work. Of course, you will be equipped with your weaponry in case you're faced with a worst-case scenario, but unless you can't avoid it, a direct confrontation is discouraged."

"So, you want me to investigate this Shadow activity?" Aigis asked.

"Correct. So, because this is a reconnaissance mission, you have to blend into the community over there, so you have to pose as a transfer student at Kuoh Academy - the closest learning institution to the place where the Shadow activity was detected." Mitsuru said. "Ah, if you're worried about your background, we already have it covered for you. While you were sleeping, I took the liberty to submitting your enrollment form." She took out a card from her breast pocket. "And this is your student ID."

Aigis took the student ID as Mitsuru handed it to her. There was a picture of her, wearing her black suit with red necktie. Then she looked at her name and frowned.

_Ai Kirijo_

"Ah, if you're wondering about the name, since they may run a background check on you, I took the liberty to make forged documents of your birth certificate, indicating that you are my long lost half-sister." Mitsuru continued. "And I have to act as your relative so that you will be able to be enrolled into Kuoh Academy without problems."

"Making forged documents does not sound very lawful of you, Mitsuru-san," Aigis commented in robotic tone. Well, she already did the same back then, when they were at Gekkoukan High School before.

"I don't want to hear that little comment from you, Aigis," Mitsuru remarked before she sighed. "And I want you to investigate this matter thoroughly. Also, I expect a report for every significant finding."

"Understood," Aigis responded.

"And..." Mitsuru smiled. "I want you to enjoy yourself, too. You don't have to rush it, so you should enjoy a high school life at Kuoh Academy. From what I have heard, it is quite a prestigious learning institution. It used to be an all-girl school, but recently, it was changed into a co-ed school. Even if you have completed your investigation, you may continue going to that school for a year."

"Huh? Do you want me to go to high school all over again?" Aigis asked, confused.

"Let's just say that this is your chance to experience a relatively normal high school life for once. The time at Gekkoukan doesn't count, of course." Mitsuru smiled kindly at the battle maiden. "And you've been working very hard these last few months. A nice change of pace won't hurt you, right?"

For a while, Aigis was silent, seemingly pondering about this. And then, she looked at Mitsuru. "Very well. If you insist that this is the best for me, then I shall follow."

"Thank you," Mitsuru said. "So, do you have any questions?"

"When do I start?" Aigis asked.

"You're going to be officially enrolled into Kuoh Academy next week. All you have to do is to mentally prepare yourself. If you need anything, feel free to tell me. Any other questions?"

"Am I allowed to give my honest opinion regarding you making a decision behind my back, Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asked, once again in robotic tone.

Mitsuru frowned. Aigis was being a smartass again. "No, you may not."

"Understood."

* * *

"My name is Ai Kirijo. I will be in your care for the time being."

Aigis, or Ai Kirijo introduced herself to her new classmates. Like most female students of the school, she was wearing white long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black shoulder cape and a matching button-down corset, as well as a magenta skirt with white accent. Unlike others, however, she was wearing a red ribbon instead of a black one. It seemed that she was rather attached to this particular color. And in order to hide her mechanical parts, she wore white gloves and black pantyhose.

She was greeted warmly by her new classmates, though there were a few male students who seemed to be overly ecstatic about her being in their class. These particular male students, three in number, were infamously known among the student body as the Perverted Trio, as a few of her new female friends in class had helpfully explained it to her. She was advised to not get associated with these three due to their chronic perversity and their obsessions toward two particular parts of female anatomy - as well as obsession towards one particular article of undergarment worn underneath a female's skirt.

"Ah, I'm wearing pantyhose, so there's nothing to worry here. And there is nothing to see underneath my skirt, after all..." Aigis said innocently to her classmates.

"Well, if you say s- wait, nothing?!" One of her classmates said. "Umm... Kirijo-san, what did you say?"

"What did I say?" Aigis asked in bewilderment.

"Umm..." another classmate spoke. "W-well, umm... did you just say that you don't wear panties?"

Aigis blinked several times. She was a battle android, so wearing a pair of panties would be unnecessary. "No. I don't wear panties." After a pause she added, "And don't worry, I put on my pantyhose."

Several gasps chorused within the classroom. And to make it even worse, one of the Perverted Trio overheard the part about their new classmate not wearing panties. And naturally, he went to tell the other two within the trio about this fact. They seemed overjoyed.

In the end, all the female students in that particular class became rather protective of their new classmate, in order to protect her innocence from being stained by the filth of the Perverted Trio.

* * *

_"So, how's the school?"_ Mitsuru asked Aigis via a phone call after school. The battle android was currently in her apartment, waiting orders from the leader of the Shadow Operatives.

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to be like this. It was different compared to Gekkoukan," Aigis admitted. "Everyone is friendly and very supportive. Even though there were a few odd ones in the class, I suppose everyone is a decent person."

_"I see. Hmm... what do you mean by 'odd ones'?"_ Mitsuru asked, curious.

"There are-" Aigis immediately and abruptly stopped herself. She knew Mitsuru very well to expect her reaction if she told her about the Perverted Trio and their incorrigible perversity. After all, Mitsuru wasn't nicknamed 'Queen of Execution' for no reason. "Well, there are a few eccentric ones in the classroom, but there are none of them who are worth mentioning or worth being executed."

_"I... see..."_ Mitsuru said with an uncertain tone. _"So, how will you proceed?"_

"The same as you suggested." Aigis answered. "I will go to the area where the activity was detected. Because this is just a reconnaissance mission, I am only required to survey the area and then report any finding to you. Direct confrontation is not advised."

_"Good. We'll be counting on you, Aigis. And please be safe,"_ Mitsuru told the battle android. Aigis smiled, noticing the concern in Mitsuru's voice. Despite their relationship being a leader-subordinate one, the fact that both of them were friends was undeniable.

"Understood. Please expect good news from me, Mitsuru-san."

Aigis put down her phone on the table once the conversation ended. She had to be prepared for this mission. She looked at herself and she was still attired in her school uniform. First, she unbuttoned her corset-like vest and took off the shoulder cape. Then she took off the rest. She put her clothes on the table neatly before she reached for her black suit. And of course, she wouldn't forget to put on her red necktie. It was clear as day that she had some sort of attachment to this particular color.

Next, she checked her equipment. She had two combat knives, designed by Kirijo Group. The knives were designed to combat human opponents instead of Shadows because they had some kind of function that can stun humans. They wouldn't be effective against Shadows, however, and she had to use her heavy firearms in order to eliminate them. She put the knives into her jacket.

There was also a briefcase on the table. Aigis reached out to open the briefcase, revealing some kind of metallic device in it. Shaped like a gun, it was a device specifically designed to shoot some kind of pseudo-trauma, which allowed someone to summon a Persona: an Evoker. Aigis had no need for such thing, however, because as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, she had a built-in Evoker within her. It just happened that she kept it after the death of its previous owner. Aigis reached to it and gingerly held the device with her hands.

"Minato-san..." Aigis muttered, saying the name of its previous owner. The Evoker was still in a good condition because she had been taking good care of it. It was one of a few mementos of him that she had in her possession, the other ones being his earphones and MP3 player. "Please hang in there."

Years ago, when she finally saw the miracle performed by him, she finally realized the reason behind his death. In order to prevent the darkness within the hearts of men, Erebus, from reaching Nyx, he sacrificed himself to become the Great Seal. Unless humanity became enlightened so that it would never wish for death anymore, he would remain there, stuck within the Collective Unconscious forever to be a barrier between Erebus and Nyx. It was a sad fate for a savior of humanity like him, but Aigis knew that the sacrifice was necessary for the survival of mankind.

"I will make sure that the world you have saved, the world that you have protected, will be a place where everyone can be happy..." Aigis muttered, clutching the device against her chest. "This is the least I can do to ease your burden." She could faintly hear a soft hum inside her chest, and she knew that it was her Plume of Dusk reacting to the memories of him. Her Plume of Dusk, aptly named the Papillon Heart because it was shaped like a butterfly, was an essential item within her that granted her a personality, which allowed her to summon her Persona.

And she still could recall the time when she exposed her heart for him to see, and asked him to touch it - so that his genetic information would be permanently burned into her. A Plume of Dusk was an extremely delicate thing, akin to a human's heart. And yet, she trusted him to touch hers. Of course, he expressed his concern over the fact that he might end up damaging it. And yet he still did it, reaching into her heart by touching it tenderly and gently, and at that time, both of them became one.

Just recalling that time made the android's cheeks to heat up. It was probably due to her CPU or something overworking itself, but was making her cheeks red necessary to show it? After calming herself down, she put down the Evoker into the briefcase and then closed it.

"I'll be going now, Minato-san." Aigis said. "Please wish me luck."

Aigis stepped out of her apartment to go to the area where the Shadow activity was detected.

* * *

"Judging from the reading, the activity should be here..." Aigis muttered as she stood before an old, abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of the town. Nobody was there, much to her relief. In case if she was forced to fight, she wouldn't have to worry about getting innocent people involved into this.

When she scanned the area, she found out that there was some kind of residue of Shadow activity. It was faint, but it was still there.

"A Shadow shouldn't be able to manifest in the real world. So, unless if there is some kind of phenomenon such as a miniaturized Dark Hour happening here, Shadow activity is unlikely..." Aigis spoke to herself. "Perhaps I should investigate what is inside this warehouse." She walked towards the entrance of the warehouse, but when she tried to open it, she found out it was locked.

Aigis blinked several times. While it wasn't that strange to have an abandoned warehouse to be locked, Aigis had a hunch that there was something being kept inside this warehouse.

"Then, I suppose there is no other choice." Aigis took off the glove of her right hand, revealing the blackened tips of her fingers. "Ready to fire."

She aimed her fingers at the locked door before her.

"Fire!"

Without reservation, she released a barrage of bullets at the locked door from her fingers. She folded the sleeve of her right hand to allow the bullet shells to be ejected out. The empty bullet shells clattered onto the pavement as she ejected them.

After she was done firing, she moved her fingers before clenching her right hand into a fist as she observed what happened to the door. Sure enough, it was demolished thanks to her firing at it. "Ah, I overdid." Well, at least she was able to accomplish her goal of unlocking the door. She put on the glove back and pushed the door open.

And she wasn't prepared to see what awaited her inside the warehouse.

"W-what in the world is this?!" Aigis gasped. Inside the warehouse, she saw a dozen of people, most of them schoolchildren, slumped against the floor and the wall, unresponsive and pale-skinned. She was familiar enough with these signs to recognize what was happening to these people.

There was no doubt about it.

"Apathy Syndrome..." Aigis could feel her rage starting to build up within her. Whatever happened to these people, there had to be someone behind it. Back then, at Tatsumi Port Island, there was some kind of outbreak of this condition, which was caused by the Shadows. It was a result of having one's psyche eaten by Shadows, reducing the victims into a vegetative state.

She went closer to these people, noticing that some of them were wearing the school uniforms of Kuoh Academy. There were no signs of injury on them, but judging from how they were placed, she had a feeling that they might have gone through some kind of experimentation which caused them to turn into the Lost, or people inflicted by Apathy Syndrome.

"I have to report this to Mitsuru-san immediately," Aigis spoke to herself. She was about to take out her phone from her pocket, but then, she sensed something. Immediately, she jumped back, barely avoiding an energy beam that was hurled out of nowhere. "An enemy?!" She quickly took out one of her combat knives from her jacket and crouched, placing one hand on the floor while the other was holding the combat knife. She scanned her surroundings to see the source of the energy beam that was hurled towards her.

"My, my, it seems that you do know how to fight..." a voice was heard from above. "Well, I probably shouldn't miss my next attack..."

"Who's there?!" Aigis looked up, and much to her surprise, she saw a purple-haired woman, clad in a rather scandalous outfit that shouldn't be considered legal, with a miniskirt that displayed her shapely legs and a shirt that couldn't only be considered impractical, but also showed a massive amount of cleavage. But all those details were nothing compared to a pair of leathery wings behind her, which seemed to allow her to hover in the air like that. "Who are you?!" Aigis held her combat knife in a reverse-grip.

"Me? Oh, you don't have to know about that, dear..." the winged woman cooed as she slowly descended to the floor and landed gracefully in front of Aigis. There were a few markings on her face and body, and Aigis could see that these markings seemed to be glowing. "Even so, this is quite a surprise, don't you think? I never thought that anyone would ever come here."

"What are you? What have you done to these people?" Aigis asked, cautiously looking at this woman. In response, the woman chuckled.

"You sound like you seem to have a good idea about what was happening to these poor souls..." The woman smirked. "Well, all I did was harvest their psyches for my grand plan. Convincing them to come here was just a piece of cake, and they didn't have any slight idea of what was happening to them as I turned them into these..." She gestured at the people inflicted by Apathy Syndrome near them. "Even so, they should be proud that they played quite an essential role in order for my grand plan to be realized."

"You did... what to them?!" Aigis glared at the woman. She caused this to them?!

"Calm down, dear. All they did in their life was wasting their time in everything, so it should be beneficial for them to play such a role in my plan. All they did in life was fool around, making no contribution to the world. They were simply a waste of time for everyone. So, is it wrong for me to correct such a thing?" The woman said, feigning innocence. She flapped her leathery wings behind her slightly as she spoke, folding her arms under her chest.

"Even so, you have no right to decide what people should do!" Aigis exclaimed. "And here, you stripped them of their will to live, turning them into these... these empty shells of men!" She pointed at the Lost.

"Ah, it seems that I shouldn't waste my time arguing with you..." the woman held one of her hands up before she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Aigis could feel something changing around them. From the windows of the warehouse, she was able to see the sky turning green and everything around them became silent. There was no sound of birds or any animals. "You have seen what I had done to them, so I will not let you out of this place alive, dear. No hard feelings, though."

"T-this..." Aigis recognized the phenomenon that was happening around her. "A miniaturized Dark Hour. I-it can't be..." Then, she heard sounds that seemed familiar to her before a few masked creatures emerged out of nowhere. She recognized these creatures because she was specifically designed to destroy them. "Shadows…"

Chuckling, the woman approached one of the Shadows and stroked it like a mother would to her child. "Now... let's see how well you can keep my children entertained. Please don't disappoint them, m'kay?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, this is me, Prince Arjuna. After seeing a lot of crossover stories with High School DxD, I'm also thinking about making one. So, here it is, a crossover fanfiction of Persona 3 and High School DxD, featuring Aigis. And for your information, this story occurs right after Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, so please beware of spoilers. And this story also occurs right before Issei becomes a Devil, so I would like you to expect something in near future, with the cast from Persona universe to be included into DxDverse. And for your information, the woman Aigis is facing in this chapter is a stray Devil, and because I don't know how to name a Devil in DxDverse, she is unnamed for the time being. So, if you guys are kind enough, would you like to suggest to me a suitable name for this stray Devil? Thank you kindly.

Also, I would like to thank **Sorata Shioya** and **Sraosha** for beta-reading this chapter. I'm looking forward to work with you more in the future.

So, I hope you'll like this chapter, and if you're kind enough, would you leave this humble author a review? He needs it for encouragement. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 02: Night Queen.**

**Edit: **And for those who want to know why a stray Devil is capable of controlling Shadows and invoking a miniaturized Dark Hour, that will be explained in the next chapter. But I'll tell you that this has something to do with the prophecy of the Fall back in the game.

**Edit(2):** Minor changes on the title and summary, thanks to **Sorata Shioya**. The story is now known as **Heart of a Butterfly.**

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	2. Night Queen

Aigis jumped out of the warehouse, barely avoiding the attacks from the Shadows that somehow were tamed and controlled by the winged lady with purple hair. As soon as she reached the outside of the warehouse, she regained her footing and took a good look at her surroundings. She was able to properly see the sickly green sky and feel the damp air around her. Water seemed to have turned into blood, like how she used to remember this phenomenon.

The Dark Hour, a time which was supposedly hidden from normal humans. A separate dimension, a phantom zone in which the Shadows, the manifestations of humanity's dark thoughts, roamed around. And that woman not only invoked such a phenomenon, creating a miniaturized version of the Dark Hour, she was also capable of controlling the Shadows to do her bidding.

"You're fast, but you should just stay still so my children can kill you." The woman spoke as she walked out of the warehouse in a dainty fashion, followed by the Shadows. She then stroked one of the Shadows that was following her, a Shadow that took the shape of a white tiger chained to a massive metal ball. Aigis could hear the feline-shaped Shadow purr as the woman petted it like a person would do to pet a cat. "Even so, it makes me wonder. You're not a Devil, and yet you moved too fast to be a normal human being. What are you, exactly?"

Aigis didn't answer the woman's question as she warily looked at her and the Shadows that were surrounding her. Because she was sent for a reconnaissance mission, she was not equipped with her heavy weapons, which included rocket launchers or Gatling guns, instead only having mere combat knives and firearms. She believed that with her current equipment, she would be able to exterminate a Shadow or two without much trouble, but from what she could see, the number of the Shadows was very overwhelming for her to deal alone, and this mysterious woman seemed to possess some sort of unique power. She was the one who hurled the energy beam before.

And to make matters even worse, Aigis was unable to summon her Persona due to the fact that she had gotten some hardware replaced just a day before she departed from the Shadow Operative's headquarter. Due to the replacement, her ability to summon her Persona was 'locked' for a brief period of time in order for her to familiarize herself with the new hardware and for her system to run smoothly. While she could terminate the 'lock-down' mode to enable her to summon her Persona, it would take time, and these Shadows and the woman with them would not give her the luxury to do such thing.

Because the initial reading of the Shadow activity of the area wasn't shown to be particularly high that would warrant the usage of a Persona, she had come to this area, thinking that she wouldn't have to use her Persona since she still had her weapons in her disposal. Quietly, she chastised herself over her honest mistake.

Three minutes. That's all she needed to complete the termination sequence, but in the meantime, she had to deal with all these Shadows, as well as this mysterious woman.

"How did you do this?" Aigis tried this particular approach. As soon as she started the termination sequence, she tried to distract the woman by talking to her. She didn't drop her guard as she warily looked at her, holding her combat knife in one hand. "How did you manage to control all these Shadows?"

The mysterious winged lady raised her eyebrow as she placed one of her hands on her hip before she chuckled. "Oh? So you know what these creatures are, dear? Well, that does save us a little bit of time, don't you think?"

Aigis frowned. "My true purpose is to destroy these wretched, vile creatures." She took off her white gloves and tossed them to the ground. Each of her fingers functioned as firearms, which could release high-caliber bullets that were specifically designed to destroy Shadows.

"Ah… well, you're alone, against me and my beloved crew of Shadows." The winged lady spread her arms, grinning. "What can you do against us? You might be strong, but I'm sure you won't be able to handle all of us by yourself. Am I wrong?" The Shadows around her hissed and growled, as if agreeing with her.

_'Good,'_ Aigis thought to herself. They didn't immediately attack, which allowed her to go on with her termination sequence without disturbance. She was glad that she was an android, which enabled her to make separate partitions within her system. This allowed her to run her termination sequence while at the same time, allowing herself to talk to this woman in order to distract her. "How did you manage to invoke this phenomenon?" Aigis was referring to the Dark Hour. "Unless if certain requirements are met, the manifestation of even a miniaturized version of it is impossible."

This time, the woman laughed. "My, aren't you a curious girl? Well, since you're going to die anyway, I shall entertain you." She touched her lips with her slender finger as she tilted her head. Her leathery wings flapped slightly as she moved her body in a rather sensual manner. "I've spent nearly two decades of researching this phenomenon, this Dark Hour. To be honest, it was quite an arduous task for me, and there was one time when I thought that it was impossible. And yet I persevered, and this is the fruit of my research! And all those poor souls are necessary for me to reach my goal. Can you imagine how many times I had to go through some trials-and-errors just to harvest all these Shadows from humans' psyche? Yes, I had been wasting a lot of time just to find an effective method to harvest the Shadows, but now, here they are! My beloved children! With the combination of magic and science and after going through countless processes of purification, I am able to create my own army of Shadows! And with them, I will be able to reach my ultimate goal!" Her sensual smile turned into a twisted grin, which somehow reminded Aigis of someone she was truly familiar with.

"Ultimate goal?" Aigis spoke before a realization hit her. "Don't tell me... you were trying to fulfill the prophecy of the Fall?!"

The woman gave Aigis a curious look. "Ah, so you know about the prophecy, huh? I'm surprised. How did you know about it?"

Aigis' expression turned grimmer as she recalled about the prophecy of the Fall, which foretold the arrival of Nyx to deliver humanity its supposed salvation. She still could remember that expression from the bespectacled madman who called himself Shuji Ikutsuki, who proudly declared his intention to welcome Nyx and fulfill the prophecy, even though she was remote-controlled at that time.

"I should be the one to ask you such question," Aigis said.

"Well, it was that during that one time when I disguised myself as a human, when I encountered this particular human. He seemed quite absentminded and had the tendency to make some quite cringe-worthy jokes that almost made me atomize him into nothingness," the woman said, leaning against one of the Shadows, the tiger-shaped one. "The reason why I didn't do so was because of one thing he told me that caught my interest." Her grin widened. "He told me about the prophecy. He told me about the eventual arrival of Nyx, a maternal being that will revert the world to its original state."

It seemed that she had just confirmed it. It had to be someone who told her about the prophecy, and who else besides that one particular madman? "Shuji Ikutsuki..." Aigis spat the name in distaste. It was always him. It was somehow always him that was the one responsible for all the bad things that happened in the past. He had caused suffering to so many people, herself included. The creation of Strega, the death of Takeharu Kirijo, the sad fate of a lonely boy named Sho Minazuki and even the existence of Ryoji Mochizuki himself, and by extension, the ultimate fate and sacrifice of Minato Arisato. Hell, even the creation of Labrys and her breakdown could be considered his fault too. "Why does it have to be always him?" Aigis muttered. If she didn't hate that man before, she did now.

"So, you know that man?" The woman gave Aigis a curious look. "Do you perhaps know what happened to him as well?"

"He's dead. He hurt my friends, and he paid with his life." Aigis spoke in a dangerously low tone. "Why do you want to fulfill the prophecy? Aren't you well aware that with Nyx's arrival, it will mark the end of the world?"

"Of course I'm aware of it. But isn't it something that everyone truly yearns for?" The woman responded to Aigis' question with another question. "Humanity yearns for the end of all things, and what is the grandest of all ends other than Death itself? And here I am, a Devil who wants to help all these unintelligent apes achieve this ultimate end they truly yearn for. Is there anything wrong with me trying to give them something they truly want?"

Aigis' expression remained calm. "Not everyone wishes for such a thing. Death is but a part of life. Life is nothing without Death." The battle maiden closed her eyes. "If you think that everyone yearns for such a thing, then you're quite mistaken." She recalled the lone soul that stood between the malice of humanity and Death, forever bound as a barrier to prevent these two from reaching each other. From what she had witnessed at that time, she knew that Death was nothing but a natural part of life. Death might be an end for the living, but it was never an ultimate end. She reopened her eyes and looked at the woman before her with eyes filled with determination. "And I will stop you. You will not achieve your goal. I have a friend who sacrificed himself to stop such a thing, and I will never allow you to make his sacrifice be in vain!"

The woman sighed. "Well, it's not like I expected you to understand. Now, my children..." She looked at the Shadows around her. "Destroy her."

Responding to her call, all the Shadows simultaneously attacked Aigis.

"Termination sequence, completed."

And the battle maiden smiled.

_01110000 01100001 01101100 01101100 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110100 01101000 01100101 01101110 01100001_

"Persona unlocked..." Aigis muttered. She could feel a familiar surge of power rushing through every fiber of her being. "Activating summoning sequence…" As the creatures of darkness drew nearer, she reached deep into her psyche, and called forth her other self. "Athena!"

The sound of breaking glass resonated in the air.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD crossover**

**Chapter 02: Night Queen**

The stray Devil's eyes widened as the Shadows were thrown back by some kind of force, and the blonde girl was somehow wreathed in a brilliant, azure light. As the light faded, she was greeted by the frowning visage of a Gorgon on a round shield. Then, she realized that the shield was being held by a majestic-looking woman, clad in a flowing robe and a Greek helmet, who was bearing a barbed spear alongside the shield.

"N-no way..." The woman was stunned to see this woman, whose appearance and presence radiated power and authority. From the shield she wielded, she was able to recognize the figure that had protected the blonde girl. "It can't be! This is impossible!" She almost screamed.

Aigis stepped away from the shield-bearing woman and looked at the stray Devil before her with piercing blue eyes.

"Aegis... a shield bearing the face of Gorgon.." The woman muttered. "There is no mistaking it. B-but how... how can an ancient goddess manifest herself here?! This doesn't make any sense!" Her voice sounded almost hysterical.

It seemed that the stray Devil was experiencing a breakdown upon seeing the Greek goddess of wisdom, the patron goddess of Athens: Pallas Athena, in all her shining glory. Her eyes were shadowed by the war helmet she wore, but it didn't degrade the beauty and aura she radiated. As she stared at the goddess of wisdom, she could faintly hear something, akin to a hymn, being softly spoken by the goddess herself. Her presence within the Dark Hour had illuminated the darkness around them.

"Tch, no matter!" The stray Devil spat. "I don't know what kind of Sacred Gear you used to invoke an ancient goddess like Pallas Athena, but don't ever think you're going to win against me!" She bellowed, the markings on her body glowing menacingly. The Shadows around her responded to her by howling and screeching. "Come, my children! Go and crush that brat to pieces!" She grinned madly after saying that. "But don't outright kill her. I'm going to teach her a lesson she won't ever forget for standing against someone like me." She licked her lips as she looked at Aigis in such a predatory manner.

The Shadows rushed over to the battle maiden, aiming to maul her with their paws. But before they could even reach her, they were blocked by the shield of Athena that bore the frowning visage of Medusa. Then, the goddess of wisdom slammed the round shield against the Shadows, stunning them. Aigis took her chance to charge forward, shoving her hands into the mouths of two of those Shadows before releasing a barrage of high-caliber bullets right into them. The result was not pretty, as the Shadows pretty much exploded from within. Despite the savage display of power from the mechanical maiden, she gracefully retracted her hands and ejected the empty bullet shells from her arms, and the shells clattered onto the pavement.

"Two enemies eliminated..." Aigis spoke monotonously and in a robotic manner, her electric blue eyes seemingly glowing as she glared at her enemies. "Now, come and be killed. My bullets show no mercy to the wicked. Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

"My, this is quite interesting. Don't you think so, Rias?"

"..."

While the battle android was preoccupied with fighting and slaying enemies, she was unaware that she was being observed by a group of people from above. Four people, which each of them seemed capable of staying airborne with the help of their wings, were observing the battle that was occurring below them.

"Even so, this is a very strange phenomenon..." The only male in the group, a teenage boy with short blonde hair and a slender physique spoke as he looked up to see the green sky. Beside him was a white-haired petite girl, who was busy observing the battle below them. "The atmosphere is somehow pressuring, and the air is suffocating, making it hard for me to breathe. Not even birds or small animals can be seen around here." He looked at a crimson-haired girl in the group, who was hovering beside a black-haired girl. "Do you know anything about this, Buchou?"

"Honestly, I don't know..." The girl, who was addressed by the blonde boy as Buchou, shook her head. "It has to be some kind of lost magic or a Sacred Gear of some sorts that would allow something like this phenomenon to manifest." Her brow creased up into a frown. "And you are right, Yuuto. This strange phenomenon is quite suffocating..."

"So, what do you want us to do?" The other girl, the black-haired one, whose appearance was just as attractive as the crimson-haired one, spoke. "Would you want us to jump in and assist that girl?" She pointed at the blonde girl who was battling the monsters below them. "She's facing against our target, after all."

The Buchou thought about it for a moment before she shook her head.

"No. Let us observe them for the time being. This mysterious blonde girl doesn't seem to be having any problems facing all the monsters..." the crimson-haired girl said. "We'll only jump in once the situation becomes too much for her to handle alone."

The rest of the group nodded before they continued watching the battle. They were curious about this whole situation, after all. So, they decided to observe the battle for the time being.

* * *

"Why...can't...you...STAY STILL?!" The stray Devil shrieked, hurling an energy beam towards Aigis. The battle maiden nimbly avoided the attack. When the Shadows tried to attack her, Athena manifested herself and blocked their attacks with her grand shield. The image of the frowning face of Medusa on the shield was enough to make the enemies recoil in terror, and the goddess of wisdom took her chance to skewer one of them with her barbed spear.

The Shadow let out a gurgled noise before it melted into black mud and dissipated into nothingness. Athena retracted the spear, spinning it a bit before pointing it at the stray Devil.

"Just give up..." Aigis said, ejecting a dozen empty bullet shells from her arms as she looked at the stray Devil in disdain. "I am specifically designed to destroy the Shadows, as I am an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. I know how to effectively destroy each and every one of them. I suggest you to stand down." A click was heard as she aimed her firearms at the stray Devil. "If you refuse, then I have no choice but to eliminate you as well."

While she knew that it was not her only purpose, she knew that she was designed for this. She was a weapon, and thus, had to be used as such.

"Heh... you really know how to boast, don't you, little brat?" The stray Devil sneered. "Eliminate me? Try and do that! Come forth, my children!"

She bellowed, and dozens of magic circles appeared around her before more Shadows manifested themselves from the circles. Aigis' eyes widened in surprise after seeing such an overwhelming number of Shadows appearing before her.

"Now... let's see if you can boast like that while facing all of them!" The stray Devil shouted before two minotaur-shaped Shadows rushed towards the battle android, aiming to pummel her with double strikes.

"Athena!" Aigis shouted, and the goddess of wisdom appeared in front of her, readying her shield to block the blows. As the blows connected, Aigis could feel some kind of shockwave being generated as Athena blocked the attack. She was preoccupied with these two Shadows, not realizing that another Shadow, a lion-shaped one, pounced towards her and slammed its body against the goddess'.

The blow was enough to push Athena back, causing her war helmet to fall off her head, revealing the beautiful visage of the goddess. She seemed to be grimacing as she took the blow from the Shadow, before she disappeared into motes of azure light.

Distracted as she saw her Persona dissipating, Aigis was unable to see another Shadow approaching, a minotaur-shaped one that seemed to be wielding a great ax. She could barely react to the Shadow attacking her using the great weapon. While she was able to react to it in the nick of time, by bringing up her left arm to block the attack, the sheer force of the attack was enough to send her flying towards one of the trees nearby. She let out a pained cry as her body slammed against the tree trunk before sliding down.

Seeing that the battle maiden was incapacitated by the attack, the stray Devil smugly grinned as she approached her, followed by the Shadows. "Now, where's that boast of yours, huh?"

"Ergh..." As she received damages from that attack, her system started to automatically run a diagnostic test on her body to see the extent of the damages she sustained. Luckily for her, she only got a few minor damages, but even the minor damages could affect her performance as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

"Now, my children... kill her..."

* * *

Aigis blinked. A while ago, she was cornered by dozens of Shadows that were controlled by that mysterious winged lady, but somehow, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. The floor seemed to be made of mirror, or was it water? The blue, cloudless sky seemed to be stretching to the endless horizon, and in this place, she found out that she was not alone.

There was a familiar figure, attired in a familiar black school uniform, using a familiar slouching posture with his hands in his pockets while also having a familiar mop of blue hair.

The familiar figure glanced behind, and she saw a pair of familiar, steely grey eyes. And from those eyes, she could see kindness and concern radiating from them.

"Y-you..." Aigis was astonished. After all these years, she was able to see him again. She wanted to say his name and rush over to embrace him, but somehow, she was unable to do so.

Then, the figure started walking away.

"W-wait! Don't go!" Aigis cried, trying to pursue him, but as she tried to chase after him, the gap between both of them grew wider. "Don't leave me again!"

And the figure stopped.

"Not now..."

She heard the figure spoke. A familiar soft, soothing voice, just like how it sounded like that one time.

"Not now?"

The figure nodded. His back was facing Aigis. Then, he brought up his right hand and touched the side of his head with his finger, as if mimicking an act of shooting himself with an Evoker.

"You still have an important battle to fight, remember?"

Before she could react to it, Aigis found herself being cornered by a dozen Shadows. They were trying to attack her simultaneously. Somehow, due to some reasons she couldn't comprehend, all the Shadows were moving in slow motion, much to her confusion.

But, she shrugged off the confusion for the time being, as she renewed her resolve.

"You're right, Minato-san..." Aigis muttered, closing her eyes. "I still have an important battle to fight!" She reopened her eyes, revealing a pair of glowing blue eyes filled with resolve and determination. "There's no way I can fall here! Activating Orgia Mode!"

One could hear the loud sounds of machineries within Aigis whirring to their full performance as she activated Orgia Mode. Steam started to come out of her joints and headband, and her clothes were damaged by the steam pouring out of her body. Her entire body was wreathed in a majestic blue light. Her system was forced to work to its full capacity, and the sheer intensity of it managed to heat up the air around her.

"Changing Persona..." Aigis muttered.

_01101111 01110010 01110000 01101000 01100101 01110101 01110011_

Her jacket was ripped apart by the heat generated from the Orgia Mode. Then, she shouted, "Orpheus!"

And then, a humanoid creature, white-haired and dark-skinned, with a body made entirely of mechanical parts, manifested itself. The creature's eyes were red in color, and they flashed as the Shadows that were trying to attack the battle maiden were suddenly set on fire.

"What the?!" The stray Devil gasped as she saw the manifestation of the creature, which was totally different compared to the goddess of wisdom the blonde girl had summoned earlier. Along with the appearance of the creature, she could faintly hear something, similar to when Pallas Athena had appeared earlier.

_Νύκτα θεῶν γενέτειραν ἀείσομαι ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν._  
_Νὺξ γένεσις πάντων, ἣν καὶ Κύπριν καλέσωμεν_  
_κλῦθι, μάκαιρα θεά, κυαναυγής, ἀστεροφεγγής,_  
_ἡσυχίῃι χαίρουσα καὶ ἠρεμίῃι πολυύπνωι,_  
_εὐφροσύνη, τερπνή, φιλοπάννυχε, μῆτερ ὀνείρων,_  
_ληθομέριμν' ἀγαθή τε πόνων ἀνάπαυσιν ἔχουσα,_  
_ὑπνοδότειρα, φίλη πάντων, ἐλάσιππε, νυχαυγής,_  
_ἡμιτελής, χθονία ἠδ' οὐρανία πάλιν αὐτή,_  
_ἐγκυκλία, παίκτειρα διώγμασιν ἠεροφοίτοις,_  
_ἣ φάος ἐκπέμπεις ὑπὸ νέρτερα καὶ πάλι φεύγεις_  
_εἰς Ἀίδην δεινὴ γὰρ ἀνάγκη πάντα κρατύνει._  
_νῦν δε, μάκαιρα, (καλ)ῶ, πολυόλβιε, πᾶσι ποθεινή,_  
_εὐάντητε, κλύουσα ἱκετηρίδα φωνὴν_  
_ἔλθοις εὐμενέουσα, φόβους δ' ἀπόπεμπε νυχαυγεῖς._

"No... way..." The stray Devil could barely contain her disbelief as she heard the faint voice that somehow originated from the mechanical creature floating above Aigis. She had been spending nearly two decades studying the prophecy of the Fall and Nyx, which included her studying the ancient manuscripts regarding the ancient deities. And it happened that the hymn that came from that creature was a Hymn of Orpheus about Nyx. "I-is that thing... Orpheus?"

Orpheus took the lyre that was strapped on his back and plucked the strings, causing flames to emerge from the ground, burning the Shadows to dust. As for Aigis, she walked through the inferno without showing any hint of concern to the heat as she tore away what remained of her clothes, revealing an armored bodice and her robotic parts.

"Eliminating targets," Aigis muttered in a robotic tone before she went to attack the closest Shadow nearest to her, pumping bullets into its body. Then she moved on to the next, systematically destroying the Shadows one by one. As Orpheus continued his fiery assault, Aigis efficiently eliminated the Shadows without wasting any movement, and in less than one minute, all the Shadows were reduced to black mud that subsequently dissipated into black particles.

"T-this is impossible..." the stray Devil muttered. "H-how can she defeat all my Shadows?! Preposterous!" She screamed.

As soon as she eliminated the last Shadow, Aigis fell to her knees, deactivating Orgia Mode, undergoing the process of cooling down. Steam could be seen coming out of her joints and robotic parts, and while she was cooling down, she was immobilized. Orpheus, the Persona she had summoned, then dissipated, returning to the Sea of Souls where he belonged.

As she saw the battle maiden being incapacitated, the stray Devil's expression shifted from a terrorized one into a diabolical smile. She chuckled as she slowly approached the downed battle android as prepared to launch an attack on her. "Oh, so you're running out of juice, aren't you?" She licked her lips as she held out her hand, preparing to fire an energy beam right at Aigis' head. "Well, you did surprise me with everything you did to all my children, but I suppose this is the end of the line, dear. You did well, but I suppose I have no choice but to eliminate you..." Aigis could feel power coalescing from the woman's palm, and she was unsure whether she could survive taking the blast head-on or not.

Aigis was unable to move, and the stray Devil's hand started to glow. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

_'I guess this is the end for me. I'm sorry, Mitsuru-san. I failed.'_

Then, she heard the sound of something cutting through the air before a sword seemingly appeared out of nowhere, spinning in such an impossibly high-speed before it cut the woman's hand through the wrist. The glow on the hand abruptly faded as the limb was severed by the thrown sword, which embedded itself into the wall of the warehouse.

"Gah!" The stray Devil screamed in pain as her hand was severed by the thrown sword. "W-what… t-this…" She saw the bloody stump of her severed limb before she screamed again. "My hand!" She gritted her teeth before she glared at Aigis with bloodshot eyes. "You!"

Before she could do anything, however, she was shot by a lightning strike from above, but she barely avoided it.

Aigis was confused by this sudden turn of events, but before she could do anything about it, a boy clad in Kuoh Academy's school uniform landed right in front of her, his back facing her. In his hands were swords with intricate designs. It seemed that he came from above. Then, he glanced behind him, displaying his rather handsome features and a kind smile. "Mind me lending a hand for a bit?" The boy asked in a casual tone. It looked like he was the one who threw the sword to cut off the woman's hand earlier.

Aigis was speechless for a bit before she heard a beeping sound inside her head. The cooling down process had ended, and she regained her ability to move. Then, she nodded and got up on her feet. "Appreciated."

"Grr..." Sufficiently enraged, the stray Devil, whose hand was sliced off by the boy, growled before she raised her other hand. "You'll pay for this! Rise, my children! Go and destroy them all!"

More magic circles appeared on the ground before more Shadows manifested themselves. Then, both Aigis and the sword-wielding boy found themselves surrounded by these creatures of darkness.

"Please be careful. Normal attacks won't work against them!" Aigis told the boy.

"Is that so?" The boy raised his eyebrow before he smiled. "Well, I won't say these swords are normal either." As he said that, a minotaur-shaped Shadow went to attack him, attempting to maul him with a heavy weapon, but the boy dodged the attack with ease.

With a few masterful strokes, the boy struck the monster with his swords, and the attacks were enough to sever its limbs and head. He was very fast, and Aigis could barely follow his movements.

"So fast..." Aigis muttered before she saw another Shadow trying to attack the boy from behind. "Look out!"

Before the Shadow could land a hit, Aigis saw a figure zooming from above, slamming the Shadow against the ground. When she was finally able to take a good look at the figure, she found out that it was a petite girl, also dressed in Kuoh Academy's school uniform, whose hair was white as snow. She managed to pin the Shadow to the ground by just using her fist. Then, she stomped on the Shadow's head, crushing it under her foot, killing it.

"Ah, thanks, Koneko-chan," the boy thanked the petite girl as he looked at the monster she slew, which started to melt into black mud. The short girl then stepped away from the mud, making a disgusted face.

Aigis also noticed another girl, a black-haired one, hurling lightning bolts toward the Shadows, incinerating them into nothingness. Standing beside her was a crimson-haired girl who somehow reminded her of Mitsuru. One thing that Aigis could say about these two girls was that they were very beautiful.

"Die!" A shout made Aigis shift her attention to the stray Devil. She was charging towards her, with her one remaining hand glowing. The sword-wielding boy immediately stood in her path and swung his sword, cutting off the remaining hand. "Argh!" She screamed in pain as her remaining hand was severed. Aigis took her chance to grab the stray Devil's face and activated her rocket propellers, sending herself flying forward while gripping the stray Devil's face before slamming it against the wall of the warehouse. The slam was enough to make a medium-sized crater in the wall.

Aigis released her grip on the woman's face and let her fall. Her hand was bloodied thanks to her slamming the stray Devil's head against the wall. And it seemed that those who came to assist her had eliminated all the Shadows. It was clear that each and every one of them was strong.

"Now..." Looking down on the downed enemy, Aigis spoke softly. "Do you have anything left to say?"

At first, the woman was silent, but then, she opened her mouth and spoke weakly, "Nyx-sama... Hail... Nyx-sama..."

Aigis closed her eyes, suppressing the urge to sigh. "I see." She turned back. "Orpheus."

Once again, the master of string, the ultimate poet and musician manifested himself in a glorious azure light. With his white gauntleted hand, he grabbed the woman's head.

"Do it..."

Nodding upon hearing the command, Orpheus' ruby eyes glowed, and the downed stray Devil combusted. In just a few seconds, she was reduced into a charred skeleton, which then crumbled down into dust.

Aigis sighed. She didn't like killing anyone besides Shadows, but she knew that it had to be done in order to accomplish her objective. Sure enough, after the stray Devil was reduced to dust, the surroundings reverted back to normal, with the sickly green sky being replaced by the blue, bright sky. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard as the Dark Hour ended.

She looked at her bloodied hand. _'__What a waste of life,'_ the battle android thought to herself. _'__This wasn't what he sacrificed his life for,'_ she thought to herself. She clenched her fist before she turned to look at the group who showed up and assisted her in the battle.

"Thank you for helping me." Aigis expressed her gratitude to these group of people, who were students, judging from the Kuoh Academy uniforms they wore. "If you four did not show up, then I might have died already."

The one with red hair stepped forward and smiled at Aigis. "Ah, please don't mention it. Actually, we have been hunting that stray Devil for quite some time. She had been kidnapping the students of Kuoh Academy these last few weeks, and we should thank you for assisting us in eliminating her."

Then, the black-haired girl beside the redhead whispered something to her, and she nodded.

"And before I forget, I shall introduce myself first," the crimson-haired girl said before she bowed. "My name is Rias Gremory." Then, a pair of leathery wings emerged from her back, followed by the others. Even the sword-wielding boy had those wings on his back. "And I am a Devil."

Aigis blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, this is me, Prince Arjuna. Thanks to you all who read and reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it. It happens that I still have no idea how to name the stray Devil, so she is still unnamed for the time being. But I'll try to come up with a name for the next chapter, but since she's already dead, thanks to Ai-chan, it doesn't even matter anymore. And here, I'd like to admit that I am inspired by **The Crimson Lord's** work, **A Demon Among Devil**, but since I'm not him, I'd like to make things differently for this story, **Heart of a Butterfly.** And here, I'll tell you that some characters from Persona series (except those who have died) may appear in the future chapter of this story and may play some important roles in the future. Please look forward to it, okay?

And of course, special thanks for **Sraosha** and **Sorata Shioya** as the beta-reader of this chapter. It's so nice working with you.

If you're wondering about the Greek, it's actually an actual Hymn of Orpheus about Nyx. You can see the translation below:

_Night, parent Goddess, source of sweet repose,_  
_From whom at first both Gods and men arose,_  
_Hear, blessed Venus, deck'd with starry light,_  
_In sleep's deep silence dwelling Ebon night!_  
_Dreams and soft case attend thy dusky train,_  
_Pleas'd with the length'ned gloom and feastful strain._  
_Dissolving anxious care, the friend of Mirth,_  
_With darkling coursers riding round the earth._  
_Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play,_  
_Whose drowsy pow'r divides the nat'ral day:_  
_By Fate's decree you constant send the light_  
_To deepest hell, remote from mortal sight;_  
_For dire Necessity which nought withstands,_  
_Invests the world with adamantine bands._  
_Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant's pray'r,_  
_Desir'd by all, whom all alike revere,_  
_Blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid_  
_Dispell the fears of Twilight's dreadful shade_

So, I hope you'll like this chapter, and if you're kind enough, would you live this poor author a review or two? He probably needs it for confidence boost and motivation. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 03: Devil's Advocate.**

**Edit:** The format for the Hymn of Orpheus is changed slightly.

**Edit(2):** The lock-down function is altered.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	3. Devil's Advocate

The battle android stared at the back of the blonde boy she had been following. A while ago, after school, the boy showed up at her class and asked her to follow him, telling her that Buchou wanted to meet her. And by Buchou, he meant Rias Gremory, the red-haired girl who called herself a Devil.

"Sorry about yesterday," the boy said to Aigis as he led her down the hallway of the school. "You see, we didn't have much of a chance to explain everything to you, Kirijo-san, so I hope you don't mind me dragging you out of your class like this." He looked over his shoulder to see Aigis, giving her an apologetic smile.

"I do not mind, Kiba-san," Aigis replied to the boy. "And I do wish to know more about yesterday."

Despite being relatively new to this school, Kuoh Academy, she knew who this boy was. In fact, she had heard his name many times before from her female classmates. Yuuto Kiba: a second-year student, super popular among the female population of the school. Handsome, polite, soft-spoken and courteous, he basically had most positive traits that could be found in a gentleman._ 'A truly rare breed indeed,'_ Aigis thought to herself. He even had a legion of fangirls following him around.

Aigis didn't realize that some of her female classmates were giving her evil eyes when Kiba showed up to see her back then.

Back then, right after Rias Gremory introduced herself and the rest of her group as Devils, Aigis gave them suspicious look. After all, the woman who invoked the Dark Hour in an attempt to fulfill the prophecy of Nyx also called herself a Devil. Seeing that it wasn't the right time to do any explanation, Kiba stepped forward and suggested that they should do it tomorrow at school, diffusing the tension that started to build up.

Aigis looked at Kiba, who was leading her to meet Rias. Like Rias, he was also a Devil, but he looked and acted like a normal boy. As a matter of fact, Rias and her group seemed like a bunch of normal teenagers.

Aigis sighed. She didn't expect this kind of development. It's supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission, in which she only had to observe the area to see any sign of Shadow activity, but now, she seemed to be involved in some kind of situation she couldn't quite comprehend.

"What's the matter, Kirijo-san?" Kiba asked, noticing the sigh. "Is something bothering you?" He was leading her to an old schoolhouse somewhere around the school area.

"No, there is nothing that is bothering me," Aigis answered.

"I see…"

Both Aigis and Kiba continued walking silently. Yesterday, right after she returned from her mission, she immediately put herself in sleep mode. The fact that she had activated Orgia Mode and summoned two different Personas had put a strain on the battle android. She had received minor damages from the battle against that Devil lady and the Shadows, and while she could function just fine despite the damages, she still needed to get herself repaired by the technician. She hadn't reported back to Mitsuru regarding this mission, and she wanted to focus on her recovery first. She also wanted to learn more about Rias Gremory and her group, especially about her self-proclamation of her being a Devil, as well as her connection with the woman Aigis defeated and killed yesterday.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Aigis took a good look at the old schoolhouse. It was a three-story building that was apparently in quite a good condition despite the vines creeping up to the second story. Kiba, who was leading her, stopped and turned around, smiling politely at her.

"Welcome to the Occult Research Club, Kirijo-san," Kiba said in a welcoming tone.

And so, the boy led Aigis into the building, which was supposedly the meeting place for the Occult Research Club. Inside, Aigis was able to take a look at the clubroom, which was a wood-paneled room with Victorian-styled coaches and chairs along the walls. She also saw Rias and two other girls who were with her yesterday.

The black-haired one, the one who was constantly smiling while sitting beside Rias, was known as Akeno Himejima, one of Kuoh Academy's Two Great Ladies, with the other one being Rias Gremory. Aigis had heard their names a few times on her first day at school, so she recognized them right away after seeing them. It seemed that these Two Great Ladies were enjoying their cups of tea when Aigis showed herself.

She couldn't quite recognize the other girl, the one with the petite body and white hair. She seemed to be wearing a cat-shaped hairpin. When Aigis entered the clubroom, the girl was eating yokan, which was some kind of Japanese dessert.

"Buchou, here she is," Kiba said to Rias. The Buchou placed her cup of tea on the saucer before she looked at Aigis, giving her a curious look.

"Ah, please take a seat, Kirijo-san." Rias spoke to Aigis, gesturing to the couch opposite her. "And I'm sorry about yesterday. We haven't had the chance to explain ourselves, have we?"

Aigis shook her head. "That is alright. Please, excuse me." She took her seat.

"Would you like some tea?" Kiba asked. A courteous person, indeed.

"Thank you, but it shouldn't be necessary," Aigis replied, shaking her head. As a battle android and an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, she wasn't built with a function to eat or drink.

"I see…"

And so, all of them took their seats. Even the petite girl, who was still nibbling her yokan.

"So…" Clasping her hands together, Rias looked at Aigis, her expression neutral. "I'm sure you have many things to ask, Kirijo-san."

Aigis nodded. That was an understatement, considering what happened yesterday. "Yes. You told me yesterday that you and the rest of your group are Devils." After a pause, she continued. "I would like some elaboration."

Rias smiled. "Ah, yes, yes…" She nodded. "But, before that, I suppose a proper introduction is in order. Please allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Rias Gremory, and I am the President of the Occult Research Club." She paused. "I'm sure Yuuto had told you about this club, right? Pleased to meet you."

Then, she gestured to Akeno beside her.

"And this is Akeno Himejima, the Vice-President of the Occult Research Club." Rias introduced the girl on her behalf.

"It's so nice to meet you, Kirijo-san," Akeno said to Aigis, smiling.

After that, their attentions were focused on the petite girl, who was helping herself with a third serving of yokan. "And this is Koneko Toujou. She doesn't talk much, so please excuse her for that…" Rias introduced the white-haired petite girl. The girl, Koneko, stopped eating her yokan for a while to give Aigis a nod of acknowledgement before she continued having her meal.

Rias took a sip of her tea before she put the empty cup down. Kiba picked up the teapot and poured some tea into the cup.

"Ah, thank you, Yuuto…" Rias nodded to the boy. "And he probably had introduced himself earlier, but this is Yuuto Kiba." She gestured at the boy, introducing the boy to Aigis.

"Let's get along well, Kirijo-san." Kiba showed an award-winning smile to the battle android.

"Pleased to meet you all," Aigis responded to everyone.

"Now that we're done with introductions, let us start with the main event…" Rias said, setting down her cup of tea, giving a mysterious smile to Aigis. "Tell us, Kirijo-san, what do you understand about devils?"

Aigis blinked. She wasn't sure whether it's meant to be a trick question or not, but since she's asking her that question, it would be proper to answer the question accordingly. "Devil: taken from the Greek word 'diabolos', which means slanderer or accuser. They're believed to be the personification of evil and the enemy of God in many religions, myths and cultures, particularly in Judeo-Christian traditions. Traditionally, the devils are often depicted as demonic figures, and it seems that the imagery of a red-skinned, horned demon with a pitchfork is the most popular one." She eyed the self-proclaimed Devils before her. "But judging from how you look, it looks like the imagery is a bit off."

Rias was silent for a few moments before she chuckled. "Well, that's not how we expected you to react, Kirijo-san. And yes, you are mostly right… except about the red-skinned demon with a pitchfork." She tapped her cheek as she looked at Aigis. "Now, let me explain to you about everything, about us Devils, as well as some other things…"

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 03: Devil's Advocate**

Aigis was given the explanations about the Devils, including the fact that the Devils here were the ones mentioned in the Bible. Rias also gave the battle maiden a detailed explanation about Devil society and culture, as well as information about the reincarnated Devils, individuals that used to be humans, other living beings, or creatures that were changed into Devils with the help of some sort of artifact called Evil Pieces. She also told Aigis that Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko were reincarnated Devils instead of pure-blooded ones. Not only that, Rias also told her about the existence of Angels and Fallen Angels, natural enemies of the Devils. These three biblical factions had been at war against one another since ancient times, and while outright battles among the three factions did not occur anymore, there was no peace between the factions, with occasional fights and conflicts happening over the years. The Great War had left the factions in a state of conflict, which continued for many centuries.

"So, that's the gist of it, I suppose," Rias said, leaning back after she was done giving the explanations to Aigis.

"I see," Aigis said.

Several eyebrows raised as the Devils heard Aigis' response.

"You seem to be taking everything we told you rather well, Kirijo-san," Akeno said as she tilted her head, crossing her arms under her rather ample bosom.

"Let's just say I have encountered a couple of supernatural-related events in the past…" Aigis responded. After encountering Nyx, Erebus and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, nothing seemed to faze or disturb her anymore.

"That explains why you were there yesterday," Kiba spoke. "The phenomenon that happened yesterday, it was our first time seeing it." He was referring to the Dark Hour, the miniaturized version which was invoked by the stray Devil who was defeated by Aigis. "And you seem more familiar with that phenomenon compared to us."

"So, do you have any questions?" Rias asked.

"For now, none," Aigis responded.

"I see…" Rias eyed the battle maiden carefully. "Well, then. Now, it's your turn, Kirijo-san. We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding yesterday's event."

It seemed that she wanted to know about the phenomenon that had occurred at that time. Considering how much they had revealed to her, there was no reason for her to withhold information from them.

"First, what are you?" Rias asked, and Aigis raised an eyebrow. Well, it wasn't a question she had been expecting from her, at least not the first one to be asked. "We saw your battle yesterday. You seem human, and yet the way you moved told us otherwise." When they watched her battling the stray Devil, they noticed how strange the way she moved was. It was too mechanical, and it seemed to be extremely programmed.

At first, Aigis considered not telling the truth, but after thinking that it wouldn't be fair for them because they had told her the truth, she decided to tell them about her true nature. "Very well." She nodded. "I am Aigis, the 7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, specifically designed and created to battle Shadows."

Rias, Akeno and Kiba blinked a few times after Aigis told them about herself.

"Umm… what?" Rias said, confused.

"She's a robot," one voice supplied, and the voice came from the petite girl who was busy enjoying herself with her dessert.

All eyes were on Koneko, whose expression seemed calm. She was looking at Aigis, carefully assessing her, while at the same time, having her fifth serving of yokan.

"Oh," Kiba responded to that.

"A robot?" Akeno frowned, her smile started to waver for the first time before she looked at Aigis and blinked.

Aigis looked at Koneko before she nodded. "That is an oversimplification, but it's also essentially correct." She folded her sleeve, revealing her mechanical part and metal armguard. "The development of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons had started since the eighties, and I am the 7th Generation to be developed." After a pause, she added, "Let's just say that I am designed to do work that normal humans are unwilling to do, such as doing menial tasks or destroying monstrous threats. I am normally equipped with firearms in case for the latter."

"Oh, do you mean like a Gundam?" Akeno asked.

This time, all eyes were on the Vice-President, staring at her.

"No, there is a distinction between an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon and a Gundam. We, the ASWs, are considered to be androids, while a Gundam is some kind of vehicle or mobile suit, or in other words, a mecha. A Gundam also requires a pilot in order to move, while an android does not require one," Aigis explained.

"That's not really the main issue here, Kirijo-san…" Kiba quipped.

"Right. Okay." Regaining her composure, Rias straightened her posture. "A robot. Right." In normal circumstances, she would say that she wouldn't believe what Aigis had said, but after seeing what Aigis was capable of, she decided to accept it as a fact. "So, you are a robot…"

"An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon," Aigis amended.

"Right, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, or whatever you are…" Rias pinched the bridge of her nose, starting to feel a headache. "Let us move on to the next issue. Oh!" Then, she remembered something. "You said that your name is Aigis, right? Is Ai Kirijo not your real name, perchance?"

Aigis saw no real harm from telling her the truth. "That is correct. Ai Kirijo is just a pseudonym. I do not mind if you keep calling me Kirijo, but Aigis is my real name."

"I see…" Rias mused. "You don't mind me calling you Aigis-san, then?"

"I see no problem with that, Gremory-san."

Rias nodded. "So, second question: What are you doing here, in my territory?" The crimson-haired Devil asked. Her expression turned serious. "While we are very thankful for your assistance in eliminating the stray Devil we have been hunting since months ago, we still need to know the reason of you being here. Which organization or faction do you belong to?"

For a few seconds, Aigis was pondering to herself. Should she reveal the existence of the Shadow Operatives to them? They had revealed the existence of the Devil's society to her, so it was expected of her to return the gesture.

"I was sent to observe this area and investigate the phenomenon that occurred here," Aigis started. "The phenomenon is known as the Dark Hour, a phantom zone that is supposedly hidden from normal humans, and within this phantom zone, there are monstrous creatures roaming around. These monsters are called Shadows." She placed her hand on her chest. "I am specifically created to destroy those monsters."

"'Shadows'? Do you mean the monsters summoned by Gremda?" Rias asked, curious about these creatures called Shadows.

"'Gremda'? Who?" Aigis inquired.

"Oh, we haven't told you yet, have we?" Rias remembered that they hadn't told her about the stray Devil's name. "That's the name of the stray Devil. She used to be a middle-ranked Devil who belonged to a rather famous peerage in the Underworld, but two years ago, she somehow went rogue. And a few months ago, there were some rumors about her showing up in certain places before some of Kuoh Academy's students started to disappear." She leaned forward, her eyes focused on Aigis. "Don't tell me the conditions of the kidnapped students had something to do with that phenomenon…"

Aigis recalled seeing the people the stray Devil, Gremda, had kidnapped. They had showed the symptoms of Apathy Syndrome, and she had explicitly said that she had used some methods which allowed her to harvest the Shadows out of them, creating her own legion of Shadows.

"Through certain means, she managed to create her own army of Shadows and invoke the Dark Hour," Aigis said. "I was sent here to investigate the Shadow activity that we had detected around the area, but I did not expect that someone like her was responsible for that."

Somehow, the atmosphere had turned heavy. Even Koneko had stopped eating as she listened to what the battle android had said.

"So, why did she do that?" This time, Akeno asked. "What's the reason behind her invoking this Dark Hour?"

"The end of the world," Aigis answered, her expression turned grim. "She wanted to fulfill the prophecy of the Fall, calling forth a maternal being called Nyx that will end all lives on Earth. And by harvesting the Shadows, she would try to summon the Appraiser of Nyx, a herald whose sole objective is to call forth Nyx." Back at 1999, Mitsuru's grandfather, Kouetsu Kirijo, had started some experimentations on Shadows in order to create the ultimate Shadow, the one with thirteenth Arcana that would eventually become Death and the Nyx Avatar. And this Gremda had tried to do the same through magical means in order to bring forth the Fall. "When Nyx descends upon the world, all living things will turn into the Lost, those who have lost any semblance of self, just like the students that stray Devil had kidnapped. Imagine, a world where all people become unresponsive, unaware of things around them as they slowly rot away. That's the end of the world that Nyx would bring forth."

After Aigis was finished with her explanation, Rias cleared her throat before she spoke. "So… are you saying that a stray Devil was trying to end the world?"

"That's what I said." Aigis nodded.

"Honestly, this is not what I expected to hear…" Rias admitted. "Though, I suppose it's certainly a good thing she's been eliminated."

Aigis shook her head. "No. Even if she was left alone, she won't succeed."

Rias frowned. "Why? You did say that she was trying to do something that will cause the end of the world."

Aigis closed her eyes. She considered telling them everything, telling them about the ultimate sacrifice of one particular boy who now stood between Nyx and the darkness within human's hearts.

"A similar situation almost happened before, and something had been done to make sure that it won't happen again." At last, Aigis decided to be vague about it. They had no need to know about what occurred back in 2010. She had told them more than what was necessary, and she would rather avoid burdening them with more unnecessary knowledge.

"I see…" At first, the red-haired Devil looked like she was about to ask her a question, but then she just sighed. "Well, if you say so, then I suppose we should be relieved, then. The world's not ending, a dangerous stray Devil was eliminated, and no one was hurt…" She smiled at Aigis. "I guess everything turned out okay in the end." Then, she remembered something. "And if you're wondering about the people kidnapped by her, don't worry. They're starting to recover and they seem to have no lasting injuries to speak of."

"That's quite a relief," Aigis said. Back then, whenever a Full-Moon Shadow was defeated, those who were inflicted by Apathy Syndrome would start to recover. It could be said that the same was happening to these kidnapped students. "So, is that all?"

Rias and Akeno were looking at each other for the time being before the red-haired girl looked back at Aigis. "That should be all for the time being. In any case, we'll come to you if something like this is happening again. You're free to go."

* * *

"I have to admit, that was quite a new experience for me…" Rias spoke after taking a sip of her tea. Aigis had left the clubroom, accompanied by Kiba who offered to walk her out of the clubroom. A quintessential gentleman, indeed. "I mean, there were a lot of things to take in!" She complained.

Rias, Akeno and Koneko remained in the clubroom. This time, the petite girl was helping herself to a plate of strawberry shortcake.

"So, what do you think about this… Aigis?" Rias asked Akeno.

"Well, for certain, she's an interesting person…" Akeno answered, tapping her chin as she spoke. "And she has this… unique aura around her, that's for sure."

Rias thought that for a robot, she was quite personable. Shouldn't a robot act like, well, a robot?

"Her scent."

Both Great Ladies of the Kuoh Academy looked at Koneko, who was holding her fork between her fingers.

"From her scent, I could sense something in her…" Koneko spoke. "Something that somehow makes her a living being instead of just a mere machine."

Rias looked at Koneko for a while before she nodded. "Now that you mention it, I also felt something…" She folded her arms. "It felt like there was something embedded in her that turned her into something that's almost unmistakably human. It's similar to an Evil Piece, yet different…"

"So, you're saying that she's acting like a human because of some supernatural elements?" Akeno asked. "I suppose that makes sense. I mean, even with the current technology and science, it should be impossible to create something that is so unmistakably… human." Then, she chuckled. "My, this is quite interesting, don't you think, Rias? I almost thought our genre is going to shift from supernatural fantasy into science fiction, fufufu…"

Rias cleared her throat after giving Akeno a strange look. "Even so, we still have to monitor her and her movement. After all, she hasn't told us what organization or faction she belongs to. It was clear as day that she was coming here under someone's order, and judging from her knowledge about this phenomenon and also this prophecy, the organization she belongs to may have something to do with the supernatural world. We still need to know their motives and everything about them, and if everything goes well, both her and the organization she belongs to may become an important asset for us."

Akeno tilted her head, looking amused. "My, how devious of you, Rias." Then she hit her palm with her fist, as if something suddenly came to her mind. "Ah, don't tell me you're planning to offer her a place in your peerage and turn her into a Devil."

Rias coughed. "W-well, after all, she did show us her strength in battle, and I'm sure her power can be quite a useful asset for us." She saw the battle android fighting all the Shadows all by herself, and there was also that woman bearing the shield and spear, as well as that mechanical creature that conjured fire. "Though I'm not sure whether an Evil Piece can work on a robot or not." Then again, there was also something within Aigis that was similar to an Evil Piece, yet at the same time, different. If something like that could affect a machine like her, an Evil Piece could probably work too. Perhaps she needed to ask her brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, as well as his fellow Satan, the creator of the Evil Pieces system, Ajuka Beelzebub, about this. They seemed far more knowledgeable about this matter, after all.

"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, Rias. Use the correct term," Akeno said, smiling teasingly.

"Hush, you."

While Akeno was teasing her Buchou, Koneko was busy enjoying her strawberry shortcake. It was delicious.

* * *

Right after having quite an enlightening conversation with Rias and her group, Aigis immediately walked home, which was an apartment. Certain adjustments had been made to the interior of the apartment in order to accommodate her, a battle android. She immediately made a phone call in order to report to Mitsuru.

"Hello, Mitsuru-san."

_"Hello, Aigis. I suppose there is something important that you're going to report."_ Mitsuru's tone sounded neutral.

"About that…"

Aigis then told her everything that she knew, about the Dark Hour and the attempt to fulfill the prophecy of the Fall, as well as the existence of the biblical factions and their conflicts over the centuries. She even told her about Rias and her group.

"And that concludes my report," Aigis said.

Aigis could tell that Mitsuru was astonished by this sudden turn of events, judging from the silence that went on for almost a minute. Then, Mitsuru cleared her throat and spoke, _"Well, I did expect something is going to happen, but I didn't expect this of all things. Are you sure that you are not joking, Aigis?"_

"A hundred percent sure, Mitsuru-san. I see no point in joking regarding this matter," Aigis clarified. She could hear the leader of the Shadow Operatives sighing.

_"This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?"_ Mitsuru said, and by 'one of those days', she meant like the event in which they encountered Hi-no-Kagutsuchi during Golden Week. _"Putting that aside, you said that someone had tried to fulfill the prophecy of the Fall."_

"Yes. A stray Devil named Gremda tried to fulfill the prophecy, and she managed to harvest the Shadows from the innocents and invoke a miniaturized Dark Hour. I believe she tried to summon the Shadow of the thirteenth Arcana that would eventually herald the arrival of Nyx to descend upon Earth," Aigis said. "And from what she had told me during our encounter, it seems that she gained the knowledge about the prophecy from Shuji Ikutsuki himself…"

_"Shuji Ikutsuki…"_ Aigis didn't miss the contempt in Mitsuru's tone. It was already expected of her, considering that he was the one who murdered Mitsuru's father, Takeharu Kirijo, after betraying them. _"Even in death, his ghost continues to haunt us."_ That madman was essentially responsible for almost every bad thing that happened to them, including the existence of the Dark Hour, which he shared with Mitsuru's grandfather, Kouetsu Kirijo.

"It appears that we have to clean up for all the mess that he left behind." It was a cumbersome task, yet it had to be done. Many had suffered due to that madman's diabolical machination, and Aigis wanted to prevent such a thing from happening again.

After all, _he_ would do the same too, right?

"What's your next order?" Aigis queried. "Shall I remain on standby?"

_"Aigis, I want you to monitor this Rias Gremory and her group. Report to me once you gain something new,"_ Mitsuru ordered. _"And would you like some reinforcement? I mean, you might be feeling lonely over there, and Labrys has finished all her tests. Would you like me to send her over to accompany you?"_

Aigis blinked. Like her, Labrys was also an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, and she was her sister. Chronologically speaking, due to the fact that she was one of the 5th Generation of ASWs that was developed by Kirijo Group, she could be considered to be Aigis' older sister. Mitsuru had asked her if she wanted to have Labrys to accompany her in this mission, which was rather thoughtful of her. Having Labrys around would be the best thing ever for someone like Aigis, but she'd rather have the ruby-eyed mechanical maiden come over on her own accord.

"That would be nice, but she still has a say in this. It would not be right if you send her here without her consent," Aigis reasoned. Unlike Aigis, Labrys still had many things to learn about the real world.

_"Ah, yes. I suppose you are right, Aigis. I apologize."_ Despite Aigis had just blatantly questioned her authority, Mitsuru didn't sound to be offended in the slightest. That was just the nature of their relationship. One of them might consider herself to be a subordinate, but she wouldn't hesitate to criticize the leader if the situation demanded it. _"I will tell her about this and ask her whether she wants to come over or not. But considering who she is, I bet she's going to be quite ecstatic about spending time with her sister."_

Aigis smiled. From her tone alone, it was clear that Mitsuru was really concerned about her and Labrys. "Yes, please do, Mitsuru-san. Thank you very much."

_"Please, don't mention it,"_ Mitsuru said. _"Is there anything else?"_

"It looks like I need some proper maintenance." During the battle against Gremda and her crew of Shadows, Aigis had sustained minor damages. While she still could function well even with the damages, they would affect her performance and she still needed her damaged parts to be repaired. She could just repair all the damaged parts by herself, but having a technician do the work would be better.

_"I see. Very well, I'll send you one of our technicians to fix you this weekend. Anything else?"_

"That would be all, unless if you allow me to say something about your decision of replacing some of my hardware a day before I went for the mission, which automatically locked my ability to summon my Persona." Mitsuru could almost hear indignation in Aigis' tone when she mentioned about the replacement. Due to that, she was unable to use her Persona at the beginning of her encounter against Gremda and the Shadows, wasting three precious minutes, which otherwise would bring a more favorable outcome if her Persona wasn't locked in the first place.

_"Ah, I'm sorry about that, and no, you may not."_

"Understood." It happened that Aigis was quite forgiving, so she let it slide for the time being. "Talk to you again soon."

Aigis sighed before she put the phone on the desk after the end of her conversation with Mitsuru. It shouldn't be possible, but these recent events had been quite mentally draining for her. She decided that it would be the best of her to sleep. She removed her clothing, folding them neatly and putting them on the table before she went to her capsule seat. She connected herself with the wires on the seat after sitting before she disabled her motor function. Then she set the time for her to wake up before she shut her eyes and put herself in sleep mode.

And the last thing she saw before falling asleep was a blue butterfly.

* * *

In a place between dream and reality, mind and matter, she found herself sitting on a seat in a place which felt familiar to her. Yes, she remembered this place. There's no way she could forget this place.

But something was different. Unlike before, this place wasn't shaped like the interior of an elevator, but instead, it was shaped like the interior of a train. There were several empty seats around her, and there were three people besides her in this place.

One of them was an elegant-looking woman with platinum blond hair adorned with a blue hairband, attired in a blue dress. Her shapely legs were covered by the black pantyhose she wore. In her hands was a thick-covered tome, which was titled _'Le Grimoire de Coeur'_, from what she was able to see. When the woman looked at her, her rouged lips curled up into a small smile.

The other one was a tall, handsome man in a suit with similar color as the woman's dress. In his hands was also a tome which seemed to bear the same title as the one held by the woman. Unlike the woman, though, he curiously looked at her with his strikingly golden eyes. It happened that the woman also had a pair of golden eyes, and she was assessing her with those golden eyes while smiling.

And the third person, the one she was most familiar with, even after all these years since the last time she was in this room, was a bizarre-looking old man in a posh black suit. And of course, the most memorable things about this old man were his bizarre-looking long nose and bloodshot eyes, and a grin that made him look rather imp-like. When he looked at her, his imp-like grin widened before he held out his gloved hand and drummed his fingers against the small table in front of him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear lady…"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, this is me again, Prince Arjuna. Things have been better these days, and I'm in a rather good mood to write, so please excuse me if you think the update is too fast. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them. And about the part where Aigis locked her ability to summon, I have to admit that it's due to my lack of foresight and my over-reliance in plot-device, which makes that scene to be rather cliched. Oh well, there is nothing I can do about that at this point, and here, I am giving an half-assed explanation of why she locked her Persona in the first place. It won't justify why she locked it, but at least there's an explanation to it, right?

And something that I found which somehow depress me a bit is the fact that whenever I look at the tab where I read this story, the title is cut off into Heart of a Butt. Now I kind of understand why both Ddraig and Albion were depressed to the point where they have to take medication because of their titles being Breast Dragon Emperor and Butt Dragon Emperor respectively.

And thanks to **Sorata Shioya,** the beta-reader of this chapter. It's so nice working with you.

So, I hope you'll like this chapter. And if you're kind enough, will you review this chapter too? For this author, the reviews will be his sustenance in order for him to keep writing. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 04: Wild Card.**

**My future plan (which may or may not happen):** Sho Minazuki joining Vali Team, annoying the hell out of Vali with his lame puns.

**Edit:** The detail about the locked Persona is altered slightly.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	4. Wild Card

"Igor…"

The bizarre-looking old gentleman with an imp-like appearance chuckled, seemingly pleased. "Ah, it seems that you still haven't forgotten about me, my lady." He touched his chin as he looked at the guest of the Velvet Room. "It's been so quite a long time since the last time we met, at least in your world. Would you like to enlighten me by answering my question?" He studied the battle maiden seated in front of him. "How are you? Have all these years been so kind to you?"

Aigis blinked. "I won't exactly call all those years to be 'kind' to me, but I suppose they were quite enlightening." She brought her hand to her chest, right on the place where the Papillon Heart was located. "All these years had taught me many valuable lessons and had given me priceless experiences."

The proprietor of the Velvet Room quirked his eyebrow, evidently amused. "Ah, valuable lessons and priceless experiences…" He clasped his hands, hiding his grin. "It is such a miracle to see a machine grow a heart and see the wonders of the world through the eyes of a human being. The world is truly a fascinating place indeed. Now then, let's continue to our business." His bloodshot eyes focused on Aigis. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future."

Aigis was a little confused. "A contract?" She parroted Igor's word. "Shouldn't my journey have ended that one time?" She was referring to that one particular incident, that time when she and the rest of SEES were grieving over their leader's death. Conflicts arose, and they were forced to battle one another due to their clashing opinions and goals. Some wanted to honor his sacrifice, some wanted to bring him back, and some wanted to learn the truth behind his death.

This time, the woman with platinum blond hair attired in elegant blue dress spoke, "Life is but a continuous journey an individual has to undertake." Her golden eyes were focused on the mechanical maiden as she smiled kindly. "When a journey seemingly ends, another one awaits, offering new lessons an individual can learn in order to grow." Then, she glanced at the tall man who was standing beside the master of the Velvet Room, seemingly giving him a signal to continue.

"Oh, umm…" The man clumsily stumbled over his words before he cleared his throat and spoke, "There are many things an individual can learn throughout the journey of his or her life, discovering new potentials and unlimited possibilities that life can offer." The man smiled. "And, my lady, this is your chance to discover all those potentials and possibilities."

Aigis blinked again. These people reminded her of Elizabeth. Speaking of which, she currently didn't see her in the Velvet Room.

Igor chuckled. "Indeed. Remember that time when you were granted the power of your predecessor?" He asked. "A power that symbolizes the unlimited potentials within the souls of man, the power that can call forth infinite possibilities, and also a power used by your predecessor to perform a miracle that was deemed impossible to achieve, bringing salvation to mankind." He looked at Aigis expectantly, knowing that she knew what he was talking about.

"Wild Card…" Aigis said. It was the power wielded by her predecessor and also her successor. "The power that allows a Persona-user to use multiple Personas, not limited by only one." She knew that ever since that incident, she retained this power, allowing her to use more than one Persona. Though after a while, they seemed to lay dormant, only with Pallas Athena and Palladion still stirring within the sea of her soul. And recently, during the fight against Gremda and her army of Shadows, she managed to reawaken Orpheus, the first Persona ever used by _him_. She still could feel the others, all the legendary figures from myths and legends, from warrior gods to the morning star himself, yet they seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall that prevented her from reaching out to them.

Igor chuckled again. "That is correct. And now, it is your time to discover the true potentials of your power that were left untapped during your last journey." He swayed his hand, and three cards appeared, all floating in front of him. "The Master of Strings, the Goddess of Wisdom, and the Protector of Troy…" With another swipe of his hand, the cards were crushed, and the sound of glass breaking resonated within the Velvet Room. Three figures started to materialize on the unoccupied seats around Aigis, taking the forms of the Personas within her. "These are the manifestations of your other self that reside within the sea of your soul. There are more, but they are still locked within your psyche, waiting in anticipation for your call so they can show themselves for the world to see."

The first to materialize was Pallas Athena, her posture radiated confidence and authority. This time, the large, round shield that bore the frowning visage of Gorgon, the namesake of Aigis' name, the Aegis, was nowhere to be seen. Her barbed spear was also absent as she was seated on the previously empty seat. Attired in white robe trimmed with golden, her body was adorned with golden armor-like accessories. Her plumed war helmet was placed on her lap, and her head and face were fully revealed for all to see. The beautiful visage of the virgin goddess of Athens was a sight to behold, and as her grey eyes shifted to focus on the mechanical maiden, her lips curled up into a warm smile. From the look that was given to the one who had given birth to her from the sea of her soul, it was clear that she was very proud of her.

The second one was a woman clad in turquoise dress, and like Pallas Athena, she was also wearing a plumed war helmet, but unlike the goddess of wisdom, the protector of Troy seemed more like a statue, with a pure white mask-like face and a rigid posture. Then the woman, Palladion, turned her head to look at the battle maiden before she gave her a nod of acknowledgement. She somehow reminded Aigis of her old self; an unfeeling machine that only thought of itself as a weapon. Seeing this Persona gave her some kind of bittersweet feeling which reminded her of her past.

And the last one to fully manifest was a white-haired man with a mechanical body, seated on the seat with a posture that seemed awfully familiar, which reminded Aigis of the one who first summoned him. Strapped on his back was a magical lyre crafted by the god of travelers, Hermes, indicating his identity as the father of songs and the ultimate musician and poet. The master of strings, Orpheus, then looked at Aigis with his glowing ruby eyes before he tipped his head, acknowledging her as the one who gave birth to him from the sea of her soul. Seeing him brought a pang of sadness into the battle android's heart as his appearance reminded her of one who had been long gone, the one who had saved the world and mankind with the price of his life, the one who had performed an ultimate sacrifice that only a few knew of.

"Ah!" Then, Igor seemed to remember something. "I have neglected to introduce my assistants to you." Aigis looked at both the golden-eyed woman and man, who were standing by Igor's sides. "Do you remember Elizabeth? At the moment, she is on her own journey, and thus unavailable to provide her service to guests of this room. Allow me to introduce Margaret." He gestured at the woman, who smiled and nodded to Aigis. "And Theodore." The man bowed courteously to Aigis.

"My name is Margaret. Elizabeth is my younger sister," Margaret spoke. "I am here to accompany you through your journey."

"I am Theodore and Elizabeth's younger brother," Theodore said. "I shall be at your service, my lady."

"Both Margaret and Theodore are the residents of the Velvet Room, like Elizabeth and myself," Igor spoke. "Or in Elizabeth's case, she used to be a resident of the Velvet Room before setting out on her own journey." Igor clasped his hands together again. "Now, let us talk about the nature of your power, the nature of the Wild Card, shall we?" He hid his grin behind his clasped hands. "It is a power that grows over time through nurturing your understanding of the world and those around you. Only by nurturing your bonds with others will the power of the Wild Card be brought to its fullest potential. Those who bore the power of the Wild Card have achieved such a thing through nurturing their bonds with those around them. Your predecessor managed to achieve an impossible feat while your successor managed to take down deities, twice even. What will the power of Wild Card bring you, my esteemed lady?" The master of the Velvet Room chuckled. "Such thoughts has filled me with quite a vast amount of anticipation. This will surely be something to look forward to in the near future."

"The power of the Wild Card does not stem from one's skills alone. The strength comes from acknowledging the fact that one cannot avoid a battle or conflict to gain his or her desire, and that strength happens to manifest itself as power in battle," Margaret explained.

Then, Theodore added, "Besides nurturing the bonds with others through understanding them and acknowledging the inevitability of facing an obstacle in order to achieve a goal, one important element of the Wild Card is understanding oneself and one's place in the world. Only by understanding what you truly are you can you realize your heart's true desire, thus allowing you to grasp one particular possibility that you try to achieve."

Margaret looked at Theodore, seemingly amused. "Theo, your explanation is longer than mine," she said teasingly.

"I-I apologize, sister," Theodore stuttered, his cheeks flushed slightly.

"My heart's… true desire?" Aigis mused. "My true desire is…"

...Almost impossible to achieve. Yet, Minato managed to achieve something that was thought to be impossible.

Aigis closed her eyes and shook her head. No, it was still too early to decide what her true desire was. Then, she reopened her eyes to look at the residents of the Velvet Room before her.

"Now then, time marches on in your world," Igor stated. "The next time we meet, your visit shall be of your own accord. Please hold on to this."

Aigis could feel something forming in her closed fist. She opened her fist and found a metallic object with a serrated edge, colored in soft blue. _'The Velvet Key,'_ the battle android recognized the object. She clenched her fist again, allowing the object to dissolve into her mind. With this key, she would gain access into the Velvet Room once more, allowing her to enter this room wherever she saw the entrances that somehow were invisible to others.

"Till we meet again..."

Her Personas dissolved into motes of blue particles before everything started to fade to black.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 04: Wild Card**

Dressed in Kuoh Academy's school uniform, sans the shoulder cape, Aigis was walking alone to school. It took twenty minutes for her to walk from her apartment to the school, and considering that she still had much time left, she decided to walk to school without running. If anything, she would like to avoid running because she would end up getting back into her old habit of running inhumanly fast (she's a robot, after all), and she didn't want her secret to be found out by her schoolmates anytime soon.

As she walked, she recalled Igor's words when he brought her into the Velvet Room. The proprietor of the Velvet Room, along with his assistants, had explained to her the true nature of her power, the Wild Card. During the time when she awakened to this power, she hadn't utilized the true potential of this ability due to the situation that occurred at that time. Now, she had been called back to the Velvet Room once again and was given the opportunity to explore more about this mysterious power that was granted to her.

As for her Personas, she could feel all of them, but only three of them were currently active within her psyche. Currently, the one that was most active was Pallas Athena, who sometimes whispered words of wisdom and advice (like what the right thing to say to others was, or how to be more subtle while snarking at Mitsuru), which was already expected from the goddess of wisdom herself. The other two, Orpheus and Palladion, remained on the backseats, with Orpheus occasionally slipping into her mind to provide a little static noise that could be distracting sometimes while Palladion was just there, being a statue that she actually was.

"Hey, Ai-chan!"

Aigis stopped and glanced over her shoulder before she saw that she was approached by two busty forms of females, whom she recognized as her classmates.

"Ah." Aigis turned to face the girls who approached her. "Good morning, Murayama-san, Katase-san." She greeted the girls politely as she smiled at them. If she were her old self, she would never be able to smile like that. These two girls, Murayama and Katase, were members of the Kendo Club at Kuoh.

"Good morning!" One of the girls, Murayama, whose strawberry brown hair was tied up into a ponytail, returned the greeting energetically. As she happily approached the battle maiden, her bountiful assets were bouncing up and down in tandem with her movements.

"Good morning to you too, Ai-chan." The other girl, who was named Katase, who seemed to be much calmer than Murayama but still displayed a cheerful smile on her face, followed after the ponytailed girl. Her shoulder-length hair was light pink in color, and she also wore a hairband which exposed her forehead. While the color of her hair was unusual, Aigis had seen weirder when it came hair colors. And like Murayama, as she jogged towards the battle maiden, the healthy assets of hers were bouncing rhythmically in tandem with her movements.

Aigis blinked. Now that she thought about it, she realized that most girls in this school seemed to have, as an old movie that she recently watched would put perfectly, 'huge tracts of land'. Mitsuru said the movie was ridiculous (rabbits killing knights? Seriously?), but Aigis thought it was quite enjoyable. Back to the issue about breasts, those who had less than enormous bust sizes could be counted with one hand. Then, she recalled that the Devils, Rias and Akeno, the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy, also seemed to have enormous size of breasts.

Seriously, what were all the parents feeding their daughters? That was a question that started to form inside her head. Aigis looked down to look at her own chest. While she wouldn't exactly call herself small in terms of bust size, they weren't that big either. And she was already designed this way because she was an android. Was there some kind of factor such as a force field around the area that could trigger the hormones inside adolescent girls, which resulted in the growth of breasts? Or was it a plot by some malevolent entities to destroy the world by drowning its population in the sea of breasts? Or was it a result from an experiment made by either the Devils or the Fallen Angels which involved breasts expansion among the female population of the school? Now her head was flooded by many questions regarding this matter.

…

Was it just her imagination, or did she just hear Athena laughing inside her head?

"What's the matter, Ai-chan?" Murayama asked her suddenly, tapping her shoulder. She seemed to be concerned. "Is something bothering you?"

"Huh?" Aigis blinked. "What do you mean, Murayama-san?"

"You looked like you were deep in thought, so we thought that there's something bothering you," Katase said, looking a little worried.

"Ah." Aigis realized what they meant. She probably showed it on her face that she was thinking about something. At first, she wanted to tell them that she was thinking about breasts, but before she could even start saying it, Pallas Athena coughed and told her to keep quiet, telling her that her reputation would be in grave danger if she said it. "It's nothing. There is nothing bothering me. I am not thinking about any force field that can trigger the hormones in adolescent girls. Nothing at all," she spoke in a monotone voice as she told the girls who were with her.

Both Katase and Murayama were looking at each other in confusion before one of them, Katase, looked back at Aigis, and in an uncertain tone, spoke, "I… see…"

"Now, let us hurry to school. We still can make it if we start walking now," Aigis said.

"Ah, you're right." Murayama nodded. "Let's go."

And so, the three of them walked to school together. Aigis decided to think about breasts some other time.

…

Was it just her imagination, or did Palladion start laughing too? How can a statue manage to do that, she absolutely had no idea.

* * *

The class sessions went smoothly and without problems, and Aigis enjoyed them as she listened to the teachers, who were teaching their students things that she had already learned back at Gekkoukan. While she might have already gone through this sort of thing back then, she wasn't fully developed as a human and was lacking in certain areas at that time. Now that she had matured considerably, she found all these things that she had undergone to be quite enjoyable.

As she was seated at her desk, the battle maiden was mulling over Igor's words regarding her power as a Wild Card. He said that the power could be nurtured through creating bonds with others. While the thought about strengthening oneself by making bonds with other people was quite appealing, she figured that it sounded like she was taking advantage of others for the sake of power. Such a thought slightly horrified her because that would mean the bonds forged with others were not genuine because they were made for personal, selfish reasons.

Aigis realized how terrifying this power, this Wild Card, because it was so easily misused or abused by those who wielded it.

Then, another horrifying thought came into her mind.

_'Was my bond… the bond between me and Minato-san… genuine?'_

If that was really the case, if the bond between them was just a way for him to strengthen his Wild Card ability, then he might have just used her for his personal, selfish gain. Everything that she had stood for would crumble down into nothingness if that was really the case.

**[Foolish girl. Do you truly believe the bond between you two was that shallow? Do you truly believe all the words he spoke to you were nothing but honeyed lies? Are those the seeds of doubt I see, after everything he had done for you and the rest of mankind?]**

Aigis winced when she heard the harsh voice ringing inside her head.

_'Athena…'_

Somehow, Pallas Athena's chastisement brought her back to her senses. Athena was right. If he really did just use her for personal gain, then he would never look at her with his steely grey eyes that were filled with concern. If he really did make a bond with her out of selfishness, he would have never reached out to touch her Papillon Heart with such care and gentleness. If he really did just see her as an asset instead of a genuine subject of affection, he would have never wiped away her tears, telling her not to worry, telling her that everything would be alright, even as his soul started to slip away, spending his last day on the world that he had saved before becoming a guardian of all mankind to protect itself from its folly.

If he really was that selfish of a person, he would have never performed the miracle, the ultimate sacrifice to become the Great Seal in the first place, selflessly protecting all mankind with his life as a price, smiling as he did so.

Aigis knew that even though this power could be abused so easily, there had to be a reason why there were people granted with this power. She remembered the contract she was bound to: _'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.'_ When granted this power, one would be held responsible for his or her actions as he or she held this power over unlimited possibilities. If there were people given this power but not held responsible for their actions, then this power was meaningless, if what Igor and both his assistants had said was right.

Only by realizing and understanding the true nature of bonds with others, the Wild Cards could utilize the true potentials of their powers. True potentials could not be achieved if it was for personal gain alone. Aigis realized that, so there's no way her predecessor could use his power for a selfish goal. She really felt bad for thinking about such a thing.

"Kirijo-san, will you please read the next paragraph?"

Aigis blinked. Somehow, she kind of spaced out while the teacher was giving his lecture. When the teacher asked her to read the textbook out loud, she stood up, opened her textbook to see which paragraph she was asked to read.

**[Page 39, paragraph 5.]**

_'Thanks, Athena.'_

**[Pay attention next time. Just because you're a robot doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention.]**

Due to some reasons, Athena had been giving her stern lectures about the necessity of paying attention to her surroundings. Failure to do so would result in a messy, gory death, the goddess of wisdom strictly told her.

* * *

After school, Aigis decided to linger around the school area for a while. She hadn't joined any clubs yet (she was still an undercover agent, so joining clubs would hinder her mission), but it's not like she had anything better to do. And Mitsuru said that the technician would come this weekend.

As she walked down the school yard, she noticed some kind of commotion going on. Blinking, she walked over to the location where the commotion was happening and saw a group of girls from the Kendo Club, judging from the clothes they wore and the shinai they held in their hands, chasing after a boy who seemed familiar to her, while screaming and shouting bloody murder to him.

"Get over here, you pervert!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Catch him!"

And as for the boy…

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh CRAP!"

Both the boy and the seemingly slighted group of girls were running towards her direction. Then she recognized him. "Ah." She hit her palm with her fist upon recognizing the boy.

That boy was of the members of the infamous Perverted Trio of Kuoh Academy. The boy, whose hair was brown in color and spiky in style, attired in Kuoh Academy's male school uniform, wearing his jacket open, revealing a red shirt underneath, was running towards her direction without any hint of slowing down. The distance between him and the girls chasing after his sorry butt was getting shorter and shorter with each passing second.

As the boy ran, he didn't realize that Aigis was standing in his way, and when he finally realized it, it was already too late. He was about to bump into her, and a rather cliché scene where a boy bumps into a girl was going to happen, which would end up with both of them being in rather compromising positions, either with the boy on the top and the girl on the bottom, or vice versa. Bonus points if the boy's hand ended up grabbing the girl's mammary area, like what would always happen in most romantic comedy anime you nerds always watch.

Alas, fate seemed to decide otherwise as Aigis unceremoniously shoved the incoming boy aside, pushing him into a nearby bush, effectively hiding him from view. Thanks to her impressive reflexes, being a robot and all, she was able to push him aside into a nearby bush a few milliseconds right before the boy could crash into her. When the girls finally arrived to Aigis' location, they realized that the boy they were chasing after and planning to lynch later had completely disappeared from their view.

Aigis looked at the group of girls, and she saw both her classmates, Katase and Murayama, among the group. Panting, one of the girls spoke to Aigis, "Kirijo-san… hah…" Trying to catch her breath, she paused before she continued, "…did you… hah… see where… hah… that pervert… hah… ran to?"

"Pervert? Who?" Aigis asked innocently.

"W-who else? Hah… It's that… hah… Issei Hyoudou… hah…" another girl said, panting heavily.

Ah, so that was his name: Issei Hyoudou. Aigis finally remembered that name. A member of the infamous Perverted Trio, Issei Hyoudou was quite memorable among them in her opinion due to his bold proclamation to pursue the path of a Harem King as well as his obsession over breasts. It's not like the other two members of the group were less significant (a few even agreed that Issei was the tamest among the three but was still extremely perverted), it's just that this boy seemed to leave a lasting impression because her desk was located right behind his, and it happened that Aigis could hear whenever that boy made his bold exclamation known for the world to hear. The reason why she didn't recognize him right away earlier was beyond her.

…

Now she could hear Pallas Athena's voice again, nagging her to be aware of her surroundings.

"S-so… hah… did you… hah… see him?" One of the girls repeated the question of where Issei had gone to.

Aigis held out one hand, pointing at one direction.

"He went that way."

The delivery was deadpanned as she pointed at a random direction, which was not the direction that Issei had taken because he was pushed into the bush, probably scraped and bruised, but completely protected from being lynched by the slighted maidens. And so, the girls of the Kendo Club dashed toward the direction where Aigis had pointed to. After they had disappeared from her view, she looked at the bush where she had pushed Issei into.

"They're gone. You're safe now."

She could hear Issei groaning from inside the bush. Then the boy got out from the bush, slightly scraped but had no visible lasting injuries to speak of, with twigs and dried leaves tangled in his brown hair. He rubbed the back of his head as he stepped away from the bush before he looked at his unexpected savior.

"Urgh, it hurts…" Still rubbing at the sore spot on the back of his head, he then spoke to Aigis, "Hey, thanks for the save. I thought I was gonna get lynched back then." He laughed before he winced. "Ow!"

The boy clutched the left side of his torso, and from the looks of it, he might have broken something when she pushed him into the bush. Thinking that it was somehow her fault, Aigis sighed before she closed her eyes. Then she brought up her left hand, poking at Issei's side with her index.

_'Diarama…'_

The result was almost instantaneous, and Issei's eyes widened in surprise as the pain immediately vanished and was replaced by a pleasant sensation. For him, it was like being surrounded and smothered by a bunch of scantily clad ladies with big breasts. Aigis decided to ignore the expression he made when he felt the sensation as she focused her healing spell on the boy.

"It is done…" Aigis said, lowering her hand. "Does it hurt anymore?" She asked, scanning the boy to see if she missed a spot or two.

"I-it's…" Issei found out that not only his ribs were healed, the small injuries he got earlier had also vanished. "It's gone!" He immediately looked at Aigis in amazement. "That was awesome! Was it magic?" He asked excitedly.

"No, but it is close enough…" Aigis replied vaguely, smiling at the boy. It was her first time seeing the boy doing something that was remotely not perverted. His excitement over her small display of 'magic' somehow reminded her of that one time during Golden Week after she saved Teddie from the fake Labrys with her power. The look of admiration he had given her was similar to the one that Issei was giving her now after healing his injuries. "Though I have to ask you something." She looked at Issei. "Why did they chase after you?"

The excited look on the boy's face turned into a nervous one before it shifted into a sheepish one. "W-well…" he hesitated. He didn't act like his usual perverted self, probably due to the fact that Aigis had apparently saved him from being caught by the girls. "Y-you see… actually, when me, Matsuda, and Motohama were searching for a hole to take a look into the changing room, they found us and started chasing after us." He looked away sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"You were trying to take a peek?" Aigis frowned.

"W-wait, no! D-don't get it all wrong! I-" Issei stopped, words stuck in his throat before he dropped his head into his hands and sighed in defeat. "Yes..." That answer came out as a pathetic squeak. Then, he raised his head and tried to look determined, with minimal result. "But it is something that I must do! Or else I will lose my pride as a pervert!"

Aigis blinked. How could someone be proud of his perverseness? Aigis wanted to say that out loud, but she thought it might end up offending him, so she decided against it. "You do realize what you did to them was wrong, don't you?"

"Uh…" The sheepish look returned on Issei's face as he looked aside. He wanted to say something, but somehow couldn't.

Noticing his uneasiness, Aigis decided to change the topic. "So… they ended up chasing after you three…" Aigis said, looking at Issei's face. "Where are the other two? You told me that you three were trying to find a hole to take a peek into the changing room, but how come they only chased after you? Unless if they were already caught."

"They found us, and we started panicking," Issei began. "I dunno what I was thinking at that time, but when we ran away from them, I told them to run separately for me to be a decoy so they didn't chase after Matsuda and Motohama." He looked towards a direction with a worried expression. "I hope they didn't get caught, or else my sacrifice here will be in vain." He let out a sigh.

Aigis raised her eyebrow. "You acted as a decoy so that your two friends could escape?" It was a viable tactic to escape the pursuing enemies when you were a in group. By acting as a decoy, the rest would be able to escape the enemies with the decoy as an acceptable sacrifice. The fate of the decoy depended on whether he could outrun the enemies or not. Issei had just sacrificed himself for the sake of his fellow perverts, it seemed. "That was… surprisingly noble of you." Aigis knew that there was nothing noble in perversity, hence the pause, but Issei had willingly put himself in harm's way so that his friends could get away safely. Praising his bravery would be in order.

Issei sheepishly scratched the back of his head again. "Hehe, if they were caught, then who else are going to walk down the path of perverts with me?" Aigis blinked. It seemed that it was too early for her to give him something like a praise. "So, uh… you're sitting at the desk behind mine in class, right?" After a pause, he said, "Ai Kirijo, right?"

"Yes." Aigis nodded. "It is nice to meet you, Hyoudou-san."

"Umm… w-well, nice to meet you too," Issei responded. He looked like he's not used to being treated like that by a female. Most of the time, most females would react to his perverted antics with disdain at best, with utter contempt at worst. "So, uh… I gotta go now! Gotta see if both Matsuda and Motohama escaped or not! Thanks for the help!" He spun on his heel and was about to walk away before he stopped himself. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "And don't worry about your magic stuff! I'm not gonna tell anyone about it!"

And so, he left, running away so that he could check on his fellow perverts.

"I see…" Aigis mused. "Behind his apparent perverseness, there are some noble qualities to be found." She nodded to herself. "Is this what they mean when they say 'more than meets the eye'?"

**[An individual can have many sides of his self that are shown according to the situations he is in. From the meeting with the boy, we have seen that he is more than just a boisterous, hormonal teenager. Consider this as a reminder of what your power truly entails, little girl. In order to understand people better, always remember: there are more than just one side.]**

Aigis smiled. Pallas Athena's strict voice echoed within her mind, but she could sense warmth in her tone as she reminded her of her power as a Wild Card. "Thank you, Athena." She could feel that Pallas Athena was turning around, crossing her arms across her chest while hiding her embarrassment and slightly reddened cheeks.

Who could have thought that the goddess of wisdom was a tsundere?

"Ah." Aigis noticed that the sun was almost down. Apparently, the conversation with one of the members of the Perverted Trio had caused her to lose track of time. So, she decided to return home.

* * *

Issei Hyoudou was on his way to home, a grin plastered on his face. In the end, he couldn't find his fellow perverts, Matsuda and Motohama, but then, he received some text messages from them that they were already at home. So, they managed to escape the wrath of the girls they were trying to peek at, much to his relief. He was worried that he would have to pursue the dream of a real-life harem alone, a thought that somehow depressed him. He shrugged off the thought because he was in a good mood, so why would he ruin it?

He was in a good mood because of the conversation he had with the transfer student with blond hair, Ai Kirijo, whose desk was behind his in their class. So far, she was one of few females who didn't give him a disgusted look at his perverted antics, and the way she spoke to him made him feel like he was treated like an equal. Well, it was something that he truly wanted despite his perversity, but from that conversation alone, he could feel some kind of elation and fulfillment.

Speaking of Kirijo, she was awesome! Not only did she treat him as an equal, but she also knew magic! But he would remember that he needed to keep it a secret. After all, it was common for a wizard or a witch to be hidden from normal people, right?

"I still have a long way to go to realize my dream…" Issei said to himself. Being treated as an equal would be the first step in achieving such a dream, the dream of being the Harem King. It was a path filled with thorns and perils, but he knew there would be a reward waiting for him at the end of the line, and the reward, of course, would be the countless pairs of boobs to fondle. He tried to imagine the feeling of softness and squishiness with his hands, and the sweet voice that came out when he fondled the girl.

"Kyah!"

Yeah, just like that. Just thinking about that made him feel arou- wait, what?

Issei snapped out of his reverie to realize that both his hands were on a pair of breasts, which belonged to a girl who was right in front of him, her cheeks reddened. The cute girl shyly looked away, but she didn't show any sign of protest, like, at all. The pervert froze, his hands still remained on the girl's impressive rack. Then he squeezed again, and the feeling of squishiness returned.

Squish.

"Ah!"

The girl yelped, and Issei immediately backed away, eyes widened. The girl looked at Issei with cute-looking eyes with a little trace of tears in them. Issei's mouth was wide open upon seeing such cuteness. The girl brought her hand to her chin, with her arm pressed against her chest, emphasizing how large those boingy bits behind the school uniform she wore were. How Issei's hands ended up clamping on those hidden, forbidden fruits, nobody had any idea. He was probably trying to imagine groping breasts by grabbing the empty air in front of him when he accidentally grabbed the girl's breasts, who somehow were walking towards his direction. How it could be accidental, your guess is as good as mine.

"Umm… Umm…" The girl seemed to be struggling for words before she suddenly dipped into a deep bow. "I-Issei-san, would you please go out with me?!"

"...Eh?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, guys! It's me, Prince Arjuna. Thank you for reviewing the last chapter. I really appreciate the reviews. Here, I would like to clarify something. Due to the event with Gremda and the Shadows, Aigis would no longer lock her Persona, thus removing the limiter. In the last chapter, where Mitsuru said 'no, you may not' to Aigis, she said that because she didn't want to hear her complaints about the limiter, not preventing her from removing her limiter. I hope that will clear things up.

I'll try my best to keep the edginess of Persona series, while at the same time, retaining the silly moments. Darker and edgier is kind of a popular trope nowadays, but I'd like to make this story different compared to other Persona x High School DxD fanfictions.

And of course, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya,** the beta-reader of this chapter. Nice to work alongside you.

So, I hope you guys like this chapter. Hope you guys can give this starving author a review, or else he'll lose his motivation and strength to write this story. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 05: Sacred Gear.**

**What I have planned:** Relationship between Aigis and Issei will be purely platonic, just like Minako/Hamuko with Junpei.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	5. Sacred Gear

The first thing Aigis noticed when she entered the classroom was that Issei Hyoudou, whose desk was located in front of hers, seemed to be in a very good mood. One could even see glitters and sparkles around him as a goofy smile was displayed on that mug of his. Some other details that the battle android could see were that his fellow perverts, Motohama and Matsuda, whose eyes were seething with jealousy, glared at the brown-haired pervert who looked like he was on cloud nine.

Curious, Aigis blinked several times before she approached the boy. "Good morning, Hyoudou-san," she greeted the perverted boy in a polite tone.

Still having that goofy grin on his face, Issei turned to look at battle maiden. "Good morning, Kirijo-san!" One could feel excitement and jubilation in his voice as he returned the greeting.

"You seem to be in a great mood," Aigis observed.

"You bet'cha!" Issei replied excitedly. "Kirijo-san, listen to this! I finally got myself a girlfriend!"

Aigis blinked. There was one proper response to this new piece of information. "Congratulations."

Then, she noticed the hissing sounds from somewhere before she looked aside, seeing the source of the sounds coming from the other members of the Perverted Trio. From their expressions alone, the mechanical maiden could tell that they were, as most people would say, pissed off.

"Traitor…"

"Damn you, Issei!"

And the accused one, Issei, ignored the accusations from his fellow perverts as he continued basking in his delight over the fact that he finally got himself a girlfriend.

"Hehe, you see, when I was walking home yesterday after talking to you, there was this cute girl who suddenly showed up and asked me to go out with her," Issei explained to his neighbor about his girlfriend. "She's from a different school, and she's got a nice body!" He looked quite enthusiastic while mentioning about that part. "I also got to squeeze her boobs! A real girl's breasts, in flesh! Man, real-life breasts are so awesome! Viva la Oppai!" He made a groping motion as he recalled the feeling of softness and squishiness of the girl's breasts he somehow accidentally grabbed and groped.

Not too far from them, Matsuda and Motohama were pressing their hands on the sides of their heads in frustration.

"Y-you bastard! We're supposed to be friends, Issei!"

"Gah! I can't believe it! I totally can't believe it! There is no God in this world! God is dead! God is dead, I tell you!"

Meanwhile, other girls were looking at Issei in disgust.

"Urgh, what a pervert…"

"Disgusting…"

"Shouldn't that count as sexual harassment?"

Ignoring what some of the girls said, Issei's expression turned sheepish. "That last part was accidental, though," Issei said, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "I was so wrapped up in my thought about having a harem and becoming a Harem King, I didn't realize she was in front of me and my hands ended up grabbing her breasts." Then, the sheepishness turned into anxiousness as he looked at Aigis. "Umm… Kirijo-san, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Aigis asked.

Averting his eyes while scratching the back of his head, Issei spoke. "W-well, you see… it was actually my first time having a girl asking me out. Honestly, I'm kinda nervous," he admitted, worry leaking in his tone. "We're going to go out for a date this weekend, so… do you have, well… some tips to share or something?"

"Tips?" Aigis blinked her eyes a few times.

"Y-yeah…" Issei nodded. "This is important for me, see? This is our first date, so I don't wanna mess it up." Aigis could see fear in Issei's eyes. "I wanna make this date to be the best day ever for both of us, and I don't want to disappoint Yuuma-chan." When Aigis gave him a questioning look, Issei noticed that he hadn't told her the name of the girl who asked him out. "Ah, forgot to mention this earlier, but her name is Yuuma Amano. She's such a cutie, you know?" The grin returned on his face before it immediately faltered. "S-so… you got some tips, Kirijo-san? Since you're a girl, I thought you probably know what a girl likes, right?"

Aigis thought about it for a moment. All these years, she had grown up considerably in terms of maturity and understanding on how to be a human, so it could be said that she had learned a few things that could not only be used for herself, but also to help others. Unfortunately, giving advices and tips about romance was not one of them. Still, the anxious look on the brown-haired boy's face compelled her to help him, so it would be a good thing for her to give him what he wanted. Due to the lack of knowledge about this particular subject, however, she decided to use what she had learned back then instead, when she fell in love with a certain blue-haired boy and started going out with him, at least from the short time they had before facing Nyx.

Well, their relationship was a little complicated, with her being a robot and all. Not that he really minded, though.

"Let's see…"Aigis started. "If you're going out with her, don't try to impress her. Just act naturally. Listen to her words and look at her, preferably in her eyes when she talks to you." She remembered the time when that certain blue-haired boy listened to what she said calmly and without interrupting her as he looked at her. "Complimenting her looks is advised, but don't overdo it." She was often caught off guard when the blue-haired boy complimented her, citing that her blue eyes were pretty. He didn't do that often, so whenever he did do that, she couldn't help but blush.

Again, was it necessary to make her cheeks red to show that her system was heating up?

"I-is that so?" Issei listened to Aigis intently before he frantically dug into his pockets. "Hang on, I'm gonna write them down!" He fished out a card from his pocket. Aigis couldn't help but notice a symbol drawn on the card which resembled a pentagram. Issei took out his pen and wrote on the blank side of the card. "Okay, here we go. Anything else?" Issei looked at Aigis. It looked like he had written the tips that Aigis had told him on the card.

Aigis then continued telling him more tips, and Issei diligently wrote them down.

"Make sure to make her happy…" Aigis said, smiling as she reminded herself of how happy she was when her Papillon Heart was touched directly by _him_. She still could remember the warmth of his touch as his genetic code was permanently burned into her database, effectively giving him the highest priority above all else. "Make her feel like she's the happiest girl ever alive in the world. If you do that, then I'm sure your date will be going smoothly."

"Make her happy…" Issei wrote the tips before he smiled at Aigis. "Yes, I'm gonna remember that. Thanks, Kirijo-san! I really owe you for this one!" He seemed to be genuinely happy about being given the tips.

"You are welcome, Hyoudou-san," Aigis responded.

"Man, I can't wait for this weekend! It's gonna be a blast!" Issei said giddily, pumping his fists in excitement. "This is my first true step on my path on becoming the Harem King, hehehe…" He laughed as he imagined something, probably lewd things, as expected from a pervert like him. "Yuuma-chan's boobs, hehehe…" He was starting to drool as he imagined the softness and pertness of his girlfriend's ample bust.

Of course, the perverted look on his face didn't go unnoticed by the other students, and they reacted accordingly to it.

"Gross…"

"He's the worst…"

"Pervert…"

"Someone seriously needs to call 110. His entire existence is a sexual harassment in and of itself."

Issei deliberately ignored all those harsh words as he indulged himself in his little fantasy world. Aigis blinked a few times.

_'Let's hope he won't say those perverted things to his girlfriend,'_ Aigis thought to herself._ 'Even so, he looks so happy. Yes, Athena is right. There's more than just one side of a person. Issei Hyoudou is more than just a pervert. It's unfair to label him with that one label alone because he can be much more besides being a pervert.'_ Aigis nodded to herself.

Though, she could feel a strange sensation inside her. She could feel something akin to a tug within her, and she could tell it wasn't part of the machination of her body as a battle android. It came from something much deeper within her, something that came from the sea of her soul.

_The Magician._

She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the presence of this… new thing inside her. What was this feeling she was currently experiencing? As she thought about it, she recalled what Igor had told her days ago about her power as a Wild Card.

_'It is a power that grows over time through nurturing your understanding of the world and those around you. Only by nurturing your bonds with others will the power of the Wild Card be brought to its fullest potential.'_

The Wild Cards grew their powers by understanding the bonds they made with others, and by nurturing those bonds, their powers would grow stronger. That was what Aigis understood about the nature of her power, the power of the Wild Card. As she allowed her consciousness to dive into the vast sea of her soul, she could 'see' the thing she was feeling, the manifestation of her understanding in a person named Issei Hyoudou.

She could see her Personas, all three of them, surrounding this new presence which took the form of a glowing blue, empty card. Pallas Athena was looking at this new object with academic curiosity, fitting for her title as the goddess of wisdom. Palladion, being the statue she actually was, just threw an empty stare at this new object with her milky white eyes. As for Orpheus, due to some reasons that somehow escaped the battle android, he was playing his lyre, playing a rather jubilant tune.

Aigis did not understand the significance of the last part, thus in the real world, she scrunched up her brow as if in deep thought as she tried to figure out the meaning of it. A few students, as well as the homeroom teacher who was taking attendance, had noticed the strange look she made, but they didn't make any comment about it. They probably thought that she was having that time of the month.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 05: Sacred Gear**

The ringing of the bell signified the end of school sessions. Some students went to club activities while the others went straight home. There were also a few of them doing activities not related to the clubs, such as chatting with friends and some other things.

Having nothing better to do, Aigis decided to walk around the school area, observing the facilities and the students. Being quite a prestigious learning institute, Kuoh Academy was almost comparable with her previous school, Gekkoukan High School. As the mechanical maiden walked down the school yard, she saw the members of Track Club doing their laps around the school area. She also saw a few female students, probably from Volleyball Club walking around in their PE uniforms, which consisted of plain white shirts and maroon sport bloomers.

She couldn't help but notice their rather well-endowed breasts bouncing up and down as they moved. Her thought about the breast conspiracy returned to her mind. Was there something that had been polluting the water source around the area which caused the mutation within the female population that resulted in the enlargement of breasts among adolescent girls? Or was this the effect of a new drug being secretly developed by Japanese government, with the drug being mixed into the foods that these girls ate? Or was her theory about some kind of malevolent entities trying to destroy the world by drowning its entire population in the sea of breasts right all along?

The battle maiden shook her head as she continued walking. She had been thinking about breasts lately, due to some odd reasons. Katase and Murayama had been giving her weird looks when she mentioned this to them. Fortunately, they had discussed among themselves that it was still too early to decide that the Perverted Trio of Kuoh Academy had turned into the Perverted Quartet. After all, 'Ai Kirijo' didn't seem to be the kind of person who would act like the members of the trio.

"Ah." Aigis stopped as she noticed the structure right in front of her. It was an old schoolhouse, the clubhouse of sort for the Occult Research Club, with Rias Gremory being the President of the club. And Aigis had been well-informed by Rias Gremory herself that the members of the club consisted of Devils, the creatures of darkness and the ones mentioned in the Bible itself. Even so, Aigis accepted the fact of their existence quite easily due to her past experiences with Shadows and some antagonistic deities like Nyx and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. Those things existed, so why not the Devils?

Aigis blinked a few times. She somehow ended up being in front of this place. Then, she remembered Mitsuru's order that she had given to her after the accomplishment of her mission a few days ago.

"Observe Rias Gremory and her group," Aigis muttered. Mitsuru had issued this order to the mechanical maiden upon learning their involvement and assistance in Aigis' mission. The revelation of the existence of these creatures had brought a few implications, and being an ever cautious person, Mitsuru had ordered Aigis to see whether these Devils posed a threat to the world or not.

Even so, there was no reason for her to stalk them, so Aigis decided to walk away before she noticed a presence. She turned around and saw a male student with blond hair, carrying a few books in his hands. The male student, whom she recognized as Yuuto Kiba, was a member of the Occult Research Club, and like Rias Gremory, he was also a Devil. He seemed to possess some kind of power and from the battle the other day, Aigis noticed that he was quite skillful in swordsmanship. He even cut both of Gremda's hands, which allowed the mechanical maiden to decisively defeat the stray Devil before finally obliterating her with her flame.

"Ah, it's you, Kirijo-san," the boy, Kiba spoke to Aigis. He smiled at her as he continued speaking. "Good afternoon to you. Hmm… should I call you Aigis-san instead?"

Looking at the blond boy, Aigis returned the greeting. "Good afternoon to you too, Kiba-san. I do not mind if you call me Kirijo or Aigis, but Aigis is my real name."

Kiba nodded. "Aigis-san, then…" He glanced at the clubhouse of the Occult Research Club. "Is there anything you need from us? You're here, so I thought that might be the case."

Aigis thought about it for a moment. She couldn't exactly tell the boy that she had been ordered by her superior to observe them. "I was just walking around. I am new here, so I would like to learn more about this school. Even though I am not a human, I am interested in interacting with others, as well as learning more things. Do you see any problem with that, Kiba-san?" She asked.

"I see, and no, I don't see any problem with that," Kiba replied.

Aigis nodded. "Well then, I shall be on my way. I apologize if I ended up getting in your way, Kiba-san."

"Nah, no worries." After a pause, he spoke, "Say, if you don't mind, would you like to join me for some tea?" He asked, smiling. "Buchou and the rest are busy, so it'll be just me in the club for today. Unless if you have something important to do, that is."

Aigis pondered about it for a moment. She looked at the boy before her. Perhaps she could learn more about Rias Gremory and her group by talking to this boy. "Very well. It's not like I have anything better to do. I shall join you for some tea, Kiba-san." She wasn't designed with the function to eat or drink, but she thought that this was her chance to learn more about these Devils.

Kiba nodded before he went to open the door. "Please, Aigis-san. Right this way." Opening the door, he asked the battle maiden to enter the old schoolhouse first. Aigis nodded and stepped into the schoolhouse before the boy followed after her. They went to the meeting room. "Please have a seat, Aigis-san."

Aigis took a seat. "Please excuse me," she said. Kiba went to make the tea, leaving Aigis alone for a while. Then, Aigis noticed some sort of marking on the floor. The marking seemed strange, but apart from that, there was nothing extraordinary about that marking. The mechanical maiden decided to ignore the marking for the time being.

After Kiba was done preparing the tea, he brought a teapot and two teacups and saucers. He poured the tea into the teacups and placed one of the teacups in front of Aigis. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Aigis said.

As Kiba took a seat opposite to her, Aigis looked into the tea that was served to her. She had this inability to consume drinks due to her design, and she didn't want to risk causing system malfunction by sloshing her internal, robotic parts with hot tea. Mitsuru had been telling her lately that her group of scientists had been developing something which allowed the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons like Aigis and Labrys to consume foods without harming themselves, but it would be long before it could even be completed.

Kiba raised an eyebrow when Aigis didn't touch her teacup.

"Are you not going to drink?" Kiba asked, placing the teacup on a saucer after taking a sip of the tea.

"As an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, I am not equipped with the ability to eat or drink. My purpose in life is to eliminate Shadows and any threats that may endanger the world, so the act of consuming foods is irrelevant to us," Aigis explained honestly. "Doing so may end up damaging my insides, which will affect my performance greatly."

Kiba gave the battle maiden a curious look. "So, why did you accept my offer, then?" He asked.

Aigis nodded to herself before she answered, "Because doing otherwise would be rude. And even without having the need to drink, I still can talk to you." She smiled. "And the aromatic scent of this tea is pleasing to my senses, to say the least. I suppose having the scent lingering in the air makes it easier for both of us to converse."

"I see…" Kiba mused. "That was rather… thoughtful of you, Aigis-san." Then, he smiled. "Since you seem to enjoy the scent of tea more than its taste, I suppose you don't want me to take the teacup away, do you?"

"I also enjoy seeing my reflection on the surface of the tea, so please do not take it away," Aigis said.

Kiba chuckled. "You're an interesting person, Aigis-san, I'll tell you that."

"Does my preference in savoring the scent of the tea over the taste of the tea itself seem that interesting to you, Kiba-san?" Aigis asked, blinking a few times.

"Well, it's not just that." Kiba shrugged before he leaned forward, placing his hand on his chin as he studied the mechanical maiden's features. "Speaking of interesting, that day…" he began. "When you fought Gremda and her monsters, you used some kind of power that I never saw before? Is it a Sacred Gear that you used at that time, perhaps?" Normally, only humans were granted with Sacred Gears, so he might be wrong in this. Still, it made him curious.

When Aigis battled Gremda and the monsters called Shadows, Kiba recalled seeing something showing up to aid the battle maiden in battle after some sort of invocation done by her. The first one was that woman in a flowing white dress with golden trims, armed with a large shield and a barbed spear. Her presence radiated power and authority, and her regal appearance seemed to illuminate the area affected by the miniaturized Dark Hour with her presence alone. The second one was a… person? Construct? Kiba couldn't really tell. Its presence was different compared to the first one. It appeared to be humanoid, but it seemed to be lacking something that made any human-like creatures, well, humans. It also wielded some kind of strange-looking weapon, which resembled a musical instrument. It was also the one that set Gremda aflame, burning her down to her skeleton before turning her into fine, blackened dust.

"Sacred Gear?" Aigis blinked. "What is this Sacred Gear?"

Kiba raised his eyebrow. "So it wasn't a Sacred Gear you used?"

Aigis shook her head. "I do not know what this Sacred Gear refers to, but my power is called Persona. It allows me to summon the manifestations of my thought that take the form of many shapes. It is also something that allows me to battle the Shadows in the first place."

Kiba seemed curious. "So, is it a power exclusive to you as a rob- I mean, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon?" He asked.

"No. If anything, I am one of the special cases. This power is specifically granted for human beings to use. This power allows humans to conjure the manifestations of their thoughts, or in some cases, the idealized version of themselves to use in battle," Aigis explained. Then, Kiba could hear a humming sound from Aigis before the battle android was surrounded by azure light. "And it is called a Persona." The sound of breaking glass resonated within the clubroom. A figure started to materialize itself, and the figure took the shape of a woman in a turquoise dress trimmed with golden. She wore a Greek war helmet with a crimson plume and a white mask. The protector of Troy hovered in the air for a few seconds before she descended slowly, landing beside Aigis, and sitting on the couch where the battle maiden was sitting on.

Kiba could barely contain his surprise when he saw the woman. Her expressionless white mask turned to look at Kiba, and the boy could feel a chill from seeing the woman's empty, white-eyed gaze.

"Allow me to introduce one of my Personas, Palladion…" Aigis gestured at the Persona seated beside her. "She is the statue of Pallas Athena that protected the city of Troy." After a pause, she added, "And please excuse her blank look. She is, after all, just a mere statue of a goddess."

Kiba stared at the woman before she dissipated into motes of blue particles as she returned to the sea of souls from where she was born.

"That's… the manifestation of your thoughts?" Kiba asked, eyes widened.

"The correct term should be the 'manifestation of what your soul actually represents', but manifestation of thoughts is much easier to understand," Aigis clarified. "You do know what differentiates the human race from other creatures, right?" Then, she added, "Ah, rather than other creatures, let's just say 'animals', since you Devils seem to be more advanced than humans in terms of most subjects. If you compare a human to a monkey or a dog, you may say that the difference between humans and animals is their intelligence. But, the real difference here is their capability to imagine. The Personas take their shapes based on the imagination of human beings. And also their beliefs, but mostly their imaginations." Then, she remembered Koromaru, one of her trusted comrades, was also a Persona-user, despite being a dog. Then again, just like her, Koromaru was also a special case.

The power stemmed from one's thoughts and imagination? If that was truly the case, it would make such a terrifying power, even rivaling the power of Longinus, the high-leveled Sacred Gears that could even kill gods and bodhisattvas.

Even before Kiba could ask Aigis any further regarding her power, the battle maiden decided to ask him a question. "Back to my question. What is a Sacred Gear?"

"Well, I'm not really the right person to say this since Buchou and Akeno-san are more knowledgeable in this kind of thing than me, but I'll try my best to explain," Kiba began. "The Sacred Gears are some kind of items or artifacts bestowed upon humans by God." Aigis noticed the slight twitch on the edge of the boy's lips as he spoke. "And when I say God, I mean the God in the Bible. He created these Sacred Gears as parts of His system to enact miracles on Earth. All these Sacred Gears have a variety of effects, like instantaneously healing severe wounds or creating weapons or constructs out of empty air to aid the user in combat." He put his hand on his chin. "Due to some reasons, only humans are granted the Sacred Gears, so Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels don't have them. But reincarnated Devils who are reincarnated from humans can use the power of their Sacred Gears even after becoming Devils."

Aigis nodded, digesting the new information. So it was some kind of power granted by a high-leveled entity in order to enact the acts of miracle. "One question, Kiba-san. Do you have a Sacred Gear?"

Kiba's eyes widened slightly upon hearing the question. After a pause, he nodded. "Yes. You saw it at that time, right? It was my Sacred Gear, Sword Birth. It allows me to create demonic swords in battle." Aigis remembered seeing the thrown sword that cut Gremda's hand at that time, saving her from being obliterated by the stray Devil's energy beam.

"So, you gained this Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, when you were a human, correct?" Aigis asked.

This time, the boy's demeanor changed. He was no longer smiling, and he looked aside to avoid looking into the battle maiden's eyes. Aigis raised one eyebrow in confusion upon seeing the change, before she realized that she might have triggered some bad memories. From what Rias had told her before, most reincarnated Devils were humans who were dying before being reincarnated.

"…Yes," Kiba answered, his tone low. It felt like seeing an entirely different person. No, it was still the same Yuuto Kiba, but like Issei, this was a different side of him.

_'There is more than one side, indeed.'_

"I see…" Aigis mused. Deciding to change the topic, Aigis spoke, "Thank you for explaining to me about the Sacred Gears, Kiba-san. It was rather enlightening to learn something new," she admitted.

Kiba looked at Aigis, and the dark look he wore a while ago slowly vanished as he smiled. "Anytime, Aigis-san. Feel free to ask more, and I'll try my best to answer them." The gentle smile on his face made all traces of his earlier expression fade away. "To tell you the truth, this is quite enjoyable. Our conversation, that is."

"That, I have to agree…" Aigis nodded. Then, she felt a tug deep inside her, like the one that she felt after speaking with Issei earlier that day. She closed her eyes, and she could feel another presence besides The Magician.

_The Star._

She could feel it, the presences of both The Star and The Magician deep within her. Somehow, from what she had understood about a person named Yuuto Kiba had given her this new thing within her: infinite possibilities.

"I guess I shall call it a day," Aigis said, getting up from her seat. "I'm sorry about the tea, but I really enjoy the scent."

Kiba nodded and got up. "That's okay. I'm glad you like it, Aigis-san. Would you like me to accompany you to go outside?" He offered.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. Let's talk again some other time."

"Yes. Let's."

* * *

Aigis continued thinking about the new presences within her, these things that took the shape of blue, empty cards.

"So, are these what Igor said? The culmination of bonds I made with others?" Aigis muttered to herself. Within the sea of her soul, both cards were circling around each other, waiting to be unleashed in order to take more solid, meaningful forms.

As she walked towards the direction of her apartment, suddenly there was a flash of light from beside her. She stopped and saw a rather familiar thing. It was a door, blue in color, and if it was the same thing as before, as the one who held the key to the room, she would be the only one who could see the door.

Nodding to herself, she held up one hand and opened it. An object materialized itself, hovering above her hand for a few seconds before it landed on her palm. The Velvet Key, an item that gave her access to the Velvet Room. She closed her eyes and her fist, and the key glowed.

When she reopened her eyes, she found herself seated on a chair in the Velvet Room. Inside, the residents of the room were looking at her with anticipation.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear lady," the proprietor of the Velvet Room, Igor, welcomed the mechanical maiden. "How may we serve you today?"

Wordlessly, Aigis held out her hands, and two blue, blank cards appeared on her palms. The imp-like old gentleman raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused and curious.

"Ah, it seems that you have made yourself two bonds. I can feel the strength and power these two radiate," Igor spoke. "Come. Please allow us to see them."

Aigis nodded. The cards flew toward Igor before they diverted their paths, going to both Margaret and Theodore respectively. Each of them held out one hand, and each card landed on their hands before it hovered an inch away from the palm.

"Ah… this is fascinating…" Margaret spoke. "Such a free-spirited soul, not bound by the rules of your world. Even so, I can feel some kind of warmth in which it's radiating." The woman in velvet closed her golden eyes. "Despite its desire for worldly and carnal pleasure, this warmth is clearly unmistakable. How can such a contradiction exist? How could this soul desire such impure pleasure while the pureness within remains untainted? Such a contradiction, indeed." She chuckled. "I look forward to see the reason of this contradictory existence. How wonderful." She reopened her eyes, her golden eyes flashing with curiosity which reminded the android of Elizabeth. Just from this, Aigis could tell that both Elizabeth and Margaret were truly sisters.

As for Theodore, he looked at the card hovering above his palm with his golden eyes shining in melancholy. "Such sadness… such moroseness…" he spoke, sorrow leaking in his tone. "How can such a soul still find any semblance of happiness despite having gone through such austerity? I cannot help but wonder whether this display of joviality and exuberance is nothing but a mere façade to mask the pain in its heart or not." He touched the card with his gloved fingers, stroking it tenderly. "Will I still be able to smile if I have gone through the same trials as this soul had endured?" He closed his golden eyes and shook his head. "Such a thought terrifies me greatly. Even so, I wish to know more about what else this inquisitive soul has to offer." He reopened his eyes and looked at Aigis.

"How melancholic. Drama is truly your forte, Theo…" Margaret teased her little brother.

"W-well… I-I couldn't help myself, sister. This feeling of sadness truly touches my heart," Theodore stammered.

Igor, who was silent while his assistants were speaking earlier, raised his hands, and both cards flew from their palms. The cards then landed on the table in front of him.

"Now… let's see what shapes these manifestations of your bonds will take," Igor said, and both cards glowed brighter. Aigis was familiar with this process because she had seen Igor performing it back in 2010. But now, with the understanding she had gained by knowing these two boys, Issei Hyoudou and Yuuto Kiba, she would be able to witness the unexplored part of the Wild Card that she had gained years ago.

Aigis could see some sort of symbols starting to form below the cards before they broke into pieces. Igor grinned, and both Margaret and Theodore opened their compendiums.

One figure started to materialize itself on one unoccupied seat before taking the form of a beautiful man with shining black, long hair. In his hand was a spear not unlike the one that Pallas Athena wielded. The armor he wore was silver in color, shining majestically under the light of the Velvet Room. Then, the man focused his piercing red eyes on Aigis before he displayed a devious smirk.

Margaret was the first to speak after the appearance of this man. "Ah, how fascinating. From The Magician, the one who comes from the sea of your soul is him, the Victorious Child of Ulaidh, Conell Cernach." The Persona tipped his head upon hearing the introduction that was made on his behalf. "It seems that we have another interesting Persona to be recorded into our compendium. Though the detail about him sleeping with a severed head of his enemy under his knee sounds rather morbid."

Aigis looked at Conell Cernach. "Pleased to meet you."

Still displaying that devious smirk, Conell Cernach bowed his head in recognition of the one who gave birth to him from the sea of her soul before dissolving into blue particles.

The second figure that appeared was a man with quite a youthful appearance, clad in shining armor of a knight, with a stallion accompanying him by his side. Hanging on his waist was a sword with a hilt wrapped in leather. His entire back was covered by the crimson cape he wore which seemed to bear an emblem of sorts, with the image of a lion being prominently displayed on the emblem. His presence radiated an aura of calmness and when he saw Aigis, his lips curled up into a gentle smile.

"From The Star, the one who came forth to emerge from the sea of your soul is the God's Knight on Earth himself…" Theodore spoke as the knightly figure showed himself. "Galahad of the Round Table. Pureness personified." The golden-eyed man's eyebrow raised as he read the page of his compendium. "Fascinating though, he was conceived due to an illegitimate affair between his father, Lancelot of the Lake and Elaine of Corbenic. Quite interesting that the God's Knight was a child born out of wedlock."

Galahad, the Persona that was born from the bond between Aigis and Yuuto Kiba, bowed courteously to the battle maiden before he dissipated into motes of blue particles alongside the stallion that accompanied him.

Aigis could feel the presence of her two new Personas joining the others within the sea of her soul. She nodded to herself before she looked at Igor and his assistants.

"Thank you for your assistance, Igor," Aigis spoke before she focused to golden-eyed siblings. "Theodore, Margaret."

"It is our pleasure in assisting you to realize your true potential, my esteemed lady," Igor said. "I look forward to see what else the power of Wild Card will deliver in the near future. Till we meet again…"

* * *

Aigis was seated on her capsule seat, closing her eyes as dozens of wires were attached to her body. Despite that, she was not in 'sleep mode' and was just merely mimicking the act of sleeping that normal humans always did.

Then, she reopened her eyes. It was the weekend, and she remembered that her neighbor at school, Issei Hyoudou, was probably on his date with his girlfriend. She could only hope that the tips that she had given to him could help him out while both he and his girlfriend were dating.

The battle maiden sighed softly before she disconnected herself from the wires and got up from the seat. Mitsuru had told her that the technician would arrive soon in order to repair the minor damages that Aigis had sustained during the battle against Gremda and her army of Shadows. Mitsuru might send her one of the scientists from the research team of the Kirijo Group.

Aigis walked to the table and opened the briefcase that was on it. The metallic object which took the shape of a gun was taken out by the android. She held the Evoker against her chest, closing her eyes. Her Plume of Dusk reacted to the gesture, causing a soft hum coming from within her.

"I will try my best, Minato-san. Please watch over me," Aigis spoke softly as she stared into the reflective surface of the device. Then, she heard the sound of the doorbell. "Ah, that is probably the technician…" she said before she placed the Evoker back into the briefcase and closed it again. She turned on the heel of her false foot before she went towards the door.

"Hello? Aigis, are you in there?"

Eyes widened as she recognized the gentle voice that came from behind the door, Aigis hastened her steps and placed her hand on the knob. She twisted it to open the door, revealing a short young woman attired in a white, long-sleeved sundress. She tilted her head when Aigis opened the door, the fringe of her teal-blue hair fell over her teal green eyes. She brushed the hair aside with her fingers and smiled at Aigis.

"Ah," Aigis reacted to the appearance of the young woman.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" The woman spoke, still smiling. Her teal-blue hair was braided to the front, making her seem more mature and more confident.

Aigis smiled as well. "It is nice to see you, Fuuka-san."

* * *

Lying on a pool of his own blood, the boy let out weakened gasps and strangled noises. There was a large hole located in the middle of his chest.

There was a girl standing over the boy's broken body, a pair of obsidian wings seen on her back. There was a sneer on the girl's face as she looked at the dying boy in contempt.

Losing blood and clearly dying, the boy coughed up blood.

_'T-this can't be happening! W-why this is h-happening?! I can't understand… This is supposed to be the best day of our lives… H-how…?'_

A lot of questions had started to form in the dying boy's head, despite the fact that his time among the living would be ending anytime soon. The girl seemed to have left him to die on the pool of his own blood.

Cold.

It was cold.

Was dying always this cold?

In the dying boy's hand, there was a card with something written on it. His blood seemingly blotted out almost all the words written, making them unreadable.

Almost.

_Make her feel like the happiest girl alive in the world._

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, it's me again, Prince Arjuna. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, I really appreciate all those reviews. To tell you the truth, I really like writing Issei in this fanfic. It's probably due his perverted tendency, but besides that, he's also quite a complex character. In this story, Issei will be a supporting protagonist besides Aigis, who is the primary protagonist and the main character. Like in the original story, Issei will still gain his harem, probably with a few additions as well as some new power-ups.

Also, this chapter introduces Fuuka. She'll be the one who will repair Aigis and one of the prominent characters in this fanfic. More characters from Persona series may show up soon, so please look forward for their appearance.

Just to clarify, despite the hints that may suggest otherwise, I will not pair Aigis with anyone in this story. I'll give the role of being paired with other characters. And I don't think I'll focus much on pairing and romance, but considering the source materials, there will be pairing and romance in this story. Please wait and see.

And of course, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya,** the beta-reader of this chapter. It is nice working with you.

So, I hope you'll like this chapter. And because this author still needs some boost in confidence, will you kindly submit reviews for him? Thank you in advance. Until then, farewell, and see you in the next chapter, **Chapter 06: Fallen Angel.**

**What I have planned:** "I, who is about to awaken..." Those who are well-versed about High School DxD will recognize this. Don't worry, it won't happen early, and will happen in the future.

**Edit:** Added a few things.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	6. Fallen Angel

_It was supposed to be the best day of our lives._

_Both Yuuma-chan and I went out for our date in the town, and I had put my best clothes on. Kirijo-san told me to not try to impress Yuuma-chan, but she also told me that I should wear something good so that our date could go smoothly. So, instead of wearing my usual attire, I decided to wear something different. I bought the clothes that those bishounen always wore in the fashion magazines (damn those bishounen, by the way). They were expensive, but for Yuuma-chan's sake, I didn't mind._

_When we met at the park, I was caught off-guard by Yuuma-chan's appearance. She was gorgeous! I mean, look at her breasts! Perfect Oppai, I'd say! When I approached her, she looked at me and smiled cutely as she brushed her dark hair behind her ear, and I almost got myself a heart attack. That perfect smile of hers made her look one hundred times cuter than she already was. She was also wearing a light violet blouse, accentuating her womanly figure and a black miniskirt, revealing her shapely, beautiful legs._

_I thought I could die from this and be content with it._

_So, both of us went throughout the town together, doing a lot of things a couple would always do while dating. First, we went to watch a movie. A horror movie, to be exact. Yuuma-chan seemed to be scared while both of us were watching the movie, and she ended up latching herself on my arm as we continued watching it. Once again, I could feel the softness of her boobs, and I could barely stop myself from experiencing a fatal nosebleed. She looked at me with teary, violet eyes, showing me her quivering lips, which made her a lot cuter. So, for the entirety of the movie, she had been latching herself on my arm the whole time. Naturally, I didn't complain about it. If anything, it was a blessing for me to have a cute bishoujo like her to shove my arm between her breasts._

_After that, we went to the shopping mall, and we spent much of our time shopping for clothes. She asked me to comment on her looks when she put on a lot of cute dresses. All of them were perfect, I told her. Kirijo-san had told me to give her compliments sparingly, but I couldn't help it because Yuuma-chan was too beautiful. When I told Yuuma-chan that she was cute in all those dresses, she blushed and smiled shyly. I also got myself putting on some new clothes. Normally, I didn't really care about which clothes should I buy and wear, but with Yuuma-chan with me, I really enjoyed shopping with her._

_Then, we went to a restaurant to enjoy our lunch. Yuuma-chan seemed to like her parfait and shared it with me. Since we were using the same spoon at that time, it could be said that both of us indirectly kissing each other._

_I enjoyed seeing her smile. I had promised to myself that I would make this date the best day of our lives, and I would make her the happiest girl ever alive in this world. If I could make her happy, then I would be happy too._

_And so, we enjoyed ourselves by doing a lot of things. Then, we decided to call it a day when it was the time for both of us to depart. We stood before each other, staring into each other's eyes. Yuuma-chan was so beautiful, and with the sun setting right behind her, she looked absolutely heavenly. It felt like she was an angel who had fallen from the heavens in order to stay by my side. Forever._

_With both her hands behind her back, Yuuma-chan looked at me with her gorgeous violet eyes. She smiled and tilted her head before she spoke,_ "It sure was fun today."

_I was glad she was having fun. I couldn't ask for more than that! W-well, at least I wanted to grope her breasts again, but that's beside the point. If Yuuma-chan said she was having fun, then I was happy for her._

"Hey, Issei-kun…"

"What is it, Yuuma-chan?"

_Yuuma-chan put her finger on her cheek._ "There is something I want to do to celebrate our first date. Will you listen to my wish?"

_That would be it. This was something I had been waiting for! My first, real kiss with a girl! I felt like my dream that I previously thought not to be realized would come true! I looked at her lips. I couldn't imagine the feeling of having a girl's lips being pressed against mine. Such thought made me feel self-conscious. I made sure that I had checked the smell of my breath. The mental image of myself kissing Yuuma-chan made my heart bump faster. It felt like my heart might end up bursting out of my chest at this rate._

"W-well, w-what is the w-wish you want?" _In the end, I made a fool out of myself by stuttering like that. The thought about myself kissing Yuuma-chan and my nervousness caused my speech to be impeded. I silently cursed myself for doing such a careless thing._

_Still smiling sweetly, Yuuma-chan said something that I had not truly expected._

"Issei-kun… will you die for me?"

"Huh?"

_At first, I thought Yuuma-chan was just joking, but then, before I could even say anything about that wish of hers which I thought was just a joke, something emerged from her back. A pair of obsidian, feathered wings expanded to their full lengths, scattering countless feathers around the area. I blinked several times, stunned by this unexpected turn of event._

_Then, her cute smile twisted into something else, something sinister. Those violet eyes of hers narrowed, and when I looked at those eyes, I froze. I was unable to move as those eyes of hers sent shivers down my spine. Yuuma-chan flapped those raven-like wings of hers, sending more feathers to scatter in the air before she spoke again, _"It was fun. The short time I spent with you, I mean. It felt like playing house with a child."

_Her tone was cold and merciless, unlike before. She looked at me with a sneer as she placed one hand on her waist while holding out the other. Then, something started to form in her held out hand, something glowing, buzzing with power. When it finished forming, I managed to take a good look at it, which was a spear made of violet light._

_I could feel it with my skin. The power it radiated, it suffocated me._

_Then, Yuuma-chan hurled the spear towards me, and I was unable to do anything as it pierced through my chest. My eyes widened when the spear of light stabbed me right through my heart._

_It hurt. It hurt like hell._

_My vision blurred. The world around me started to turn hazy. Before I could even realize it, my back was already on the ground, and Yuuma-chan approached me, holding out her hand to touch the spear of light that stuck on my body before she pulled it out without any hint of care towards my whole being._

_Even with my vision blurred, I could see a fountain of blood, spurting out from the wound on my chest. I coughed up blood as the spear of light in Yuuma-chan's hand disappeared._

"Sorry." _I heard Yuuma-chan's voice, and the tone she made while uttering the word didn't sound apologetic at all._ "You were a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."

_I didn't get what she said. I was too busy dying to make any sense from her words. Then, she said no more. I could tell that she might have already left. I could feel a pool of my own blood starting to form below me, and everything started to become darker. Coldness started to envelop my whole body._

_Was death always this cold? I couldn't feel my limbs at all. The pain that I had experienced earlier was replaced by the utter coldness._

_Damn it. I was too young to die. There's still a dream that I had yet to achieve._

_My consciousness started to fade. I was really dying. Briefly, I thought about my parents back home. I had yet to make anything that could make them proud. I might be a problematic child for them, but I was sure that they might be saddened with my death. Well, if there was one thing that worried me, it would be the collection of those porno magazines that I kept under my bed. It wouldn't be funny if they found those things while grieving for the death of their only son._

_I tried to move my hand, and with the little energy that I had left, I could feel something in my hand. Ah, that would be the card that I used to write all those tips that Kirijo-san had told me before. All those tips sort of worked, but considering all the things that happened to me, I wasn't sure what to think anymore. If anything, I regretted that I would no longer be able to speak with her, the one who treated me like an equal._

_Argh, I didn't want this. I didn't want to die. If only I could something. If only there was something I could do._

_If only I could be reborn…_

…

"So, you were the one who called for me."

_There was a voice, filled with warmth that somehow alleviated the coldness I was experiencing. I could tell there was someone here besides me, but with my vision blurred, I was unable to see this someone._

"Looks like you are dying. Your wounds…" _the voice, which sounded unmistakably female, spoke._ "Oh my, looks like something interesting is happening to you. So it's you…" _Then, she chuckled, as if finding this whole situation amusing. What was so funny about me dying, anyways?_ "This truly is interesting…"

_I didn't know what to think anymore. I was tired and dying, and my consciousness would be lost anytime soon. Even so, I enjoyed the warmth this voice radiated. If only I could be alive, then…_

_I…_

"If you're dying, then I'll pick it up. Your life, that is. From now, you will live for me."

_Before I fully lost consciousness, I saw a glimpse of a beautiful visage of a girl with long, crimson hair._

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 06: Fallen Angel**

"I apologize for the lack of chairs, Fuuka-san. I never thought about having chairs for my guests before," Aigis apologized to the cute young woman with braided, teal-blue hair who was seated on the floor. Positioning herself in a seiza, the young woman just shook her head.

"It's alright, Aigis. I don't really mind," the young woman, Fuuka spoke softly. "So, how are you? How's the school you're attending at?" The scanner-type Persona-user asked.

"I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking," Aigis replied, smiling before she handed Fuuka a can of fruit juice. "This is the only thing I have in preparation to welcome the technician who will repair me. But I never thought it would be you, Fuuka-san."

Fuuka shook her head. "It's okay, really." She accepted the fruit juice from the battle maiden and popped it open. "Mitsuru-senpai told me that you were injured in a battle, so I was very worried. When she said that she would send you one of the technicians to repair you, I volunteered to come." She scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "I also volunteered to be your handler, so I will be staying here, in this town, for the time being."

Aigis blinked. "You're staying here?" She asked.

"Well, I'll be living at a nearby apartment, but yes, I'll be staying here to watch over you to be your handler and technician." Fuuka smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I've been studying your schematic modules these last few weeks, so fixing you will be much easier for me."

"But how about your studies? Don't you still have classes to attend at the college you're currently in?" Aigis asked, seemingly concerned.

"Ah, don't worry about that. Mitsuru-senpai did something for me, so starting tomorrow, I would be attending the college department of Kuoh Academy. That way, I'll be able to stay here and provide with you any support you may need in your current mission," Fuuka helpfully explained to Aigis about the situation. "By the way, Mitsuru-senpai had already told me everything about your mission."

Aigis eyed the young woman curiously. "So, you already know about the Devils and Rias Gremory?"

Fuuka nodded. "Yes."

"Are you not surprised about this?" Aigis asked.

Fuuka thought about it for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Hmm… I don't think so, or rather, not really. I mean, yes, it's rather new and I never expected that all these Devils and Fallen Angels really exist, but considering what we had seen and faced before, I don't think I should be surprised anymore."

"I see…" Aigis mused.

Then, after taking a sip of her fruit juice, Fuuka immediately put the can down and hit her palm with her fist. "Ah! I almost forgot!" She got up and went out of the apartment. Aigis could hear the sound of something being dragged. "Urgh… s-so heavy…" Apparently, Fuuka was dragging something from outside the apartment before she came back inside, dragging a case which was half of her body in size.

Aigis blinked. "Did you drag that thing to my apartment?"

Fuuka smiled sheepishly, her cheeks turned rosy. "W-well, I asked for the cab driver to bring this here, but he just put this thing downstairs," she continued dragging the large case into the apartment. "Mitsuru-senpai told me to give this to you."

Aigis looked at the case, which was then unlocked and opened by Fuuka, revealing a few metallic objects which seemed to be the disassembled parts of a kind of long-barreled weapon of sorts. "Ah." She kneeled and checked the items in the case, carefully assessing all the components. "I see…" She picked one of the items before she started assembling all the parts. Due to her knowledge in weaponry, assembling all the parts took less than fifteen minutes. When she was done, Fuuka could only stare in amazement as Aigis held a long-barreled gun with a rectangular casing around the barrel that was mounted under her right forearm. There was a handle with a red button near the upper end of the barrel. The way she held the new weapon looked like she was holding an oversized tonfa. "A railgun…" Aigis muttered, checking the weight of the weapon in her right hand. Despite its size, the battle android was able to hold it without any problem. "I see that the research team of the Kirijo Group has finished their test on this high-powered handheld weapon."

Fuuka looked at the railgun that was mounted under Aigis' forearm curiously and in astonishment. "Wow… I'm surprised they are capable of developing a handheld railgun like this. Not only is it powered by electromagnetism, but it also possesses quite a destructive power that should be handled by a group of people rather than one person."

"This weapon is specifically designed to be used by an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon like me," Aigis said. "An ordinary person is incapable of handling this kind of weapon because the power it generates is enough to rip one's hand upon firing." She looked at the label on the rectangular casing of the railgun. "HARPE-02…" she read the label. "I see. I suppose this is quite an outstanding gift from Mitsuru-san."

Fuuka smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Then, Aigis held up the railgun before her arm glowed. Much to Fuuka's surprise, the railgun vanished, dissolving into motes of blue particles.

"I-it's gone!" Fuuka gasped.

"It is my special power…" Aigis told the agitated young woman. "I learned this trick some time ago. This is how I store all my heavy weapons…" Mitsuru also expressed surprise upon seeing this ability for the first time, and the battle maiden told her that it was a power that she gained from the ability to summon multiple Personas. In reality, she willed the weapons to dematerialize and be stored inside her psyche, the sea of her soul where her Personas resided. She could recall all these weapons to be used at any moment. Any Persona-user could use this power if they practiced hard enough. It's just that as a Wild Card, Aigis could use this ability much easier than other Persona-users. The utilization of this ability also allowed her to use Heritage Liberator Palladion, by merging her Persona, Palladion, with her weapon to be used as her ultimate attack.

"I-I see…" Fuuka looked at Aigis in amazement. "Ah, would you like to start the repair?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Aigis nodded.

"Good. Well, let's get started, then. Will you please get undressed?"

"Okay."

Fuuka took out her equipment while Aigis undressed herself, shedding off her armored bodices so that Fuuka could start her check-up and repair.

As Fuuka started checking her robotic body, the mechanical maiden could feel The Priestess within her, pulsating with warmth.

* * *

Aigis arrived at school a little later than usual. After the check-up and repair by Fuuka, she immediately put herself in 'sleep-mode' without setting the alarm. As a result, she woke up late. She barely made it to the school ground as the first bell rang.

At first glance, there was nothing out of ordinary when she entered the classroom. She exchanged greetings with Katase and Murayama, as well as a few others. When she took her seat, she noticed that the student in front of her, Issei Hyoudou, was also seated instead of joining his fellow perverts.

After homeroom session, Aigis noticed that Issei seemed to be more withdrawn and quiet. He looked like he was brooding over something. When he looked behind to see her, he immediately averted his gaze. There was a troubled expression on the boy's face.

_'Does it have something to do with his date yesterday?'_

Aigis couldn't help but ponder over this change in demeanor in the usually perverted boy. He did make a few perverted remarks alongside his perverted friends, Matsuda and Motohama, but they sounded rather forced and hollow. Raising her eyebrow, the battle maiden decided to ask him about it during lunch break.

During lunch break, Aigis approached Issei, who was still sitting at his seat. "Hello, Hyoudou-san," she greeted the brown-haired boy. "How are you?" She asked.

Issei looked at his neighbor before he smiled, or tried to. His smile seemed forced. "Ah, h-hello, Kirijo-san. I-I'm fine." Aigis frowned. The boy seemed anxious over something. Perhaps something did happen during his date the day before.

"So… how was your date yesterday?" Aigis asked.

Issei looked at Aigis with widened eyes, as if he were seeing a ghost in daylight. Aigis blinked, thinking that she might have said something wrong to the perverted boy.

"Y-you remember?!" Issei asked, getting up from his seat.

Aigis nodded. "Yes?" She replied. "You said last week that you would be going out on a date with a girl named Yuuma Amano. Is that not correct?"

"Y-you remember Yuuma-chan?! I mean, you really did remember when I said her name?!" Issei asked desperately.

"Yes." Aigis nodded again. "Is there something wrong?" She was confused. What really happened during their date?

Instead of answering, Issei plopped himself onto his seat, eyes still widened. Then, he brought his hand to his face before he pinched the bridge of his nose. He then looked back at Aigis, showing his troubled expression.

"K-Kirijo-san…" Issei began. "If you don't mind, can we speak about this in private somewhere?" He asked. "Things are getting more and more confusing by each minute, I dunno where to start…" he admitted.

Aigis blinked and thought about it for a moment before she nodded. "Very well. Let us go to the rooftop, then," she suggested. "There are still a few spots up there where we can talk without someone interfering." A lot of students would use the rooftop to have lunches or converse with each other, and considering the size of the school, the rooftop would be large enough for both Aigis and Issei to talk without other students interfering.

"Y-yeah, let's go, then…" Issei nodded, getting up again before he followed Aigis, walking out of the classroom towards the stairway. After a few minutes, they reached the rooftop. They still could see a few students doing their things, and they went to a spot where they could talk without any interference. And considering that there were a few students conversing with each other at the rooftop, they wouldn't have to worry about being eavesdropped by people. If anything, they seemed to look like other students who were chatting with each other.

"So, what really happened yesterday?" Aigis asked.

"Umm…" Averting his gaze, Issei hesitated. "W-well, it's like this…"

Issei told her about his date. Thanks to the tips she had given to him, the date seemed to be going pretty smoothly without problem. Then, he told her about Yuuma suddenly asking him to die for her before a pair of black wings sprouted out from her back. She then stabbed him right in his chest before leaving him to die on the pool of his own blood. He told Aigis that he sort of heard a voice before he lost consciousness. Then, he woke up the next morning on his bed, his chest still intact. He didn't know what happened to him, and when he checked his phone to see the pictures he took with Yuuma during their date, he found out that there were none. More precisely, the pictures were still there, but there were no traces of Yuuma to be found in the pictures. She just somehow got erased from those pictures, leaving only the image of Issei, grinning like an idiot in those pictures he took.

When he came to school at the morning, he went to ask his fellow perverts, Motohama and Matsuda, as well as a few others, about him having a girlfriend. They told him that there's no way he could have a girlfriend. It confused him since he told them last week that there was a girl from another school asking him out on a date. It felt as if the girl named Yuuma Amano never existed.

When Issei was done, he fell silent, putting his hands on his lap as he dropped his head in dejection and confusion. Aigis, who was sitting beside the perverted boy, just looked at him.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Aigis apologized, feeling saddened after hearing Issei explain what transpired.

Issei looked up to see Aigis' face before he smiled weakly. "T-thanks, Kirijo-san…" From his voice alone, the mechanical maiden could tell that Issei was depressed over this. Not only was he attacked and left to die by his girlfriend, there weren't even any signs of her existence. "I guess you're the only one who remembers her, at this rate. Man, this is so lame…" he grumbled. "I thought everything would be going pretty smoothly, but I got killed instead. Though, I dunno if that was real or not since I'm still pretty much alive. Nobody remembers Yuuma-chan at all." He placed his palm on his face. "Well, except you, Kirijo-san. This is getting too confusing for me to handle."

Seeing Issei's distress, Aigis smiled and placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Please do not worry, Hyoudou-san. I'll help you sort everything out. You can count on me."

"K-Kirijo-san…" Issei looked at Aigis beside him, seeing her concerned eyes. "T-thanks… I-I really appreciate it. As a matter of fact, I really needed someone to talk to about this stuff."

"Just tell me if you have something to talk about, Hyoudou-san. I probably can help you somehow…" Aigis said.

"…Call me Issei," the perverted boy said. "My friends call me that."

"Ah." Aigis then nodded. "Very well. From now on, I shall call you Issei-san. In return, please call me Ai," she said.

Issei smiled slightly as he nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, Ai-chan."

Deep within the sea of her soul, Aigis could feel The Magician stirring. The more she understood the boy named Issei Hyoudou, the stronger the Arcana became. She could see the Persona that was born from the bond, Conell Cernach, smirking in anticipation as the bond between Aigis and Issei became strengthened.

"Well, let's get back to our class, Issei-san," Aigis said, standing up. "Lunchtime is almost over. Tardiness is something that we must avoid at all costs."

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right, Ai-chan." Issei stood up as well. "Let's go now."

And so, both Issei and Aigis walked alongside each other to the classroom. The perverted boy's mood seemed to be improving, thanks to the talk between both of them. While he was still distressed by the matter regarding his girlfriend, at least he had someone who was willing to hear him out.

Unnoticed by Issei, however, Aigis had been trying her best to keep her poker face on so that Issei wouldn't see the grimness of her expression upon hearing him being attacked and left to die by his girlfriend. Thanks to the information given by Rias Gremory days ago, she managed to get some idea about what had happened to Issei.

**[The boy was attacked by a girl with a pair of black wings and stabbed by a spear made of light. There is no mistake about it. He was attacked by a Fallen Angel.]**

_'But how come he's still alive?'_

**[The boy told you that he heard a voice before he blacked out. It's likely that the boy was reincarnated to become a Devil by Rias Gremory. There might be some spells of sorts that erased all traces of Yuuma Amano from everyone's memories.]**

_'I still remember about all the things he told me about his girlfriend, though.'_

**[Do you not remember, foolish girl? You are immune to any kind of memory manipulation. Remember that time, the promised day. You were the only who remembered all that happened, the fight against Nyx and the sacrifice ****_he_**** made for the sake of all mankind. And you are unlike others, as you are made of steel and wires in place of flesh and blood.]**

Aigis bit her lower lip upon hearing Pallas Athena's brutal honestly. Despite how brutal it was, the goddess of wisdom was right. So, Issei Hyoudou really was killed by his girlfriend, Yuuma Amano, who happened to be a Fallen Angel. For what purpose she did so, the mechanical maiden could only speculate. And when Issei was dying, he somehow was found by Rias Gremory, who then resurrected him, reincarnating him into a Devil.

**[Watch over the boy, little girl. He was meant to die when the Fallen Angel attacked him. If she finds out the boy she supposedly killed is still pretty much alive…]**

_'…Then she will show up to finish the job.'_

**[Good. As expected from my other self.]**

Nodding upon hearing the goddess of wisdom's suggestion, she looked at Issei and spoke, "Issei-san, would you mind if we walk together on our way home once the school day is over?"

Issei looked Aigis, a little bewildered. "Huh? Umm… w-well, I don't mind at all."

It would be preferable if Issei wouldn't be immediately attacked, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful about it. If Issei was still alive, then the Fallen Angel would come to finish the job.

And Aigis would deal with her, preferably in the most painful way possible for hurting her friend.

* * *

After the end of today's school session, both Issei and Aigis walked home. Issei was still distressed about everything that happened to him, while Aigis carefully studied their surroundings. If her calculations were right, then the Fallen Angel might show up anytime soon.

"My house is that way. It's not really that far," Issei said. "How about yours, Ai-chan?"

"Mine? Well, my apartment is over there." She pointed in a different direction.

As they continued walking, Aigis heard Pallas Athena's warning.

**[She is nearby. Brace yourself.]**

She stopped and held out her hand, stopping Issei from walking. The boy looked at her, confused.

"I know you are there," Aigis spoke, her voice loud and clear. "Show yourself."

For a while, nothing happened. Then, both Aigis and Issei heard the sound of someone chuckling before a raven-haired girl in a violet blouse and black miniskirt stepped out from her hiding spot, sporting an innocent smile. Aigis readied herself as the girl made her presence known to both of them. She also noticed that there was no one else besides them in the area.

"Y-Yuuma-chan?!" Issei gasped.

The girl, Yuuma giggled cutely when Issei spoke her name. "My, my… isn't that Issei-kun? How do you do?" She asked with faked pleasantry.

"H-how…? Y-you… what…?" Issei was too stunned to say anything coherent.

"What? Has the cat got your tongue, Issei-kun?" Yuuma tilted her head, a pose that Issei would consider cute if not due to the fact that her whole being seemed to radiate pure malice. "Well, if I have to be honest, I was kind of surprised, you see? You should have died for me yesterday. I don't know what happened to you, but you just made my job even harder because of it. You're really a pain in the ass, you know?" Then, her cute-looking smile morphed into something malicious, her voice turned dangerously low. "To be honest, you bored me. You were nothing but a child, a spoiled child. It vexed me when I had to put up with you." She seemed to be savoring the look on Issei's face when she said those words to him.

"T-then… everything that we…" Issei said, his legs trembling.

"Duh, of course everything was a fake!" Yuuma exclaimed. "What else? Do you think anyone with a sensible mind will go and ask you out on a date? You? Making me the happiest girl ever alive? Pah, give me a fucking break!"

"N-no way…" Utterly devastated, Issei fell on his knees, his strength escaping his legs.

"Issei-san." Aigis went to Issei's side.

Yuuma chuckled upon seeing the look of despair on Issei's face before her violet eyes flashed. "Well, no matter. You're going to die either way, Issei-kun. And you too, little girl. If you want to curse someone, curse him for associating himself with you." Her eyes focused on Aigis. Then, Stygian pinions emerged from her back, scattering countless feathers around her. Her clothes then ripped apart, exposing her naked flesh for the world to see before some kind of shadowy substance wrapped around her body, covering only the little bits of her body. She flapped her wings as she flaunted her almost naked body, with the shadowy substance covering only the small parts of her breasts and her crotch as well as her backside. "Now, die."

A pair of violet spears of light came into existence in her hands. She threw the spears toward both Aigis and Issei like javelins. The spears would skewer both the boy and the girl, killing them instantly.

But before the spears could even reach them, Aigis picked up the prone body of Issei before she propelled herself backward, avoiding the spears. She held Issei with both hands before she landed back on the ground and put Issei down. Issei seemed to snap out of his daze when he realized what had happened.

"Oh? So you're not an ordinary girl after all, huh? You seem to know how to fight, at least." Yuuma raised one eyebrow in fascination. "Haha, this is interesting. But, will you be able to fight all of us?" She raised one hand, as if making a signal before a few figures showed themselves to surround both Aigis and Issei.

The first one was a tall, voluptuous woman clad in a rather provocative dress, though it was nothing compared to what Yuuma was currently wearing. The way her navy-blue hair was styled seemed to obscure one of her eyes. The second one was a smaller girl with blond hair, grinning deviously as she made her presence known. Attired in a black Gothic Lolita dress that covered her whole body, her appearance seemed to be in deep contrast with the woman. And the third one was a middle-aged man, dressed in a violet trench coat over a white dress shirt. His head was covered by a black fedora, which made his eyes obscured. But his piercing dark blue eyes could still be seen as he looked at both Issei and Aigis in disdain.

Three of them also had black wings on their backs. Yuuma raised both her hands as she conjured a pair of light spears, grinning madly.

"Kalawarner, Mittelt, Dohnaseek," the scantily-clad Fallen Angel addressed her brethren. "Kill them all. Do not show them mercy." Her eyes focused on both the girl and the boy they surrounded. "If you wish to curse something, curse your fate, as I, Raynare, shall destroy you!"

"Tch!" Clicking her tongue, Aigis aimed both her hands at the Fallen Angels before she unleashed barrage of high-caliber bullets from her fingers towards them. Issei immediately crouched, lowering himself as the sounds of gunshots resonated in the air. The discharge of the bullets destroyed the white gloves Aigis was wearing.

Not expecting this, all the Fallen Angels deflected all the bullets with their spears of light. While they might be low-ranked Fallen Angels based on the number of wings they had on their backs, their reflexes far exceeded than those of normal humans. As Aigis ended her assault, she ejected the blank bullet shells from her arms, dropping them to the ground.

"W-what… what are…" The Fallen Angel who called herself Raynare looked at Aigis with widened eyes. Despite her successfully deflecting all the bullets, she was caught off guard by the assault. "What are you?!"

Wordlessly, Aigis pulled out a knife from her jacket, twirling it before holding it in a reverse grip position. With the help of her rocket propeller, she propelled herself towards Raynare, attacking her with a diagonal slash of her knife. Raynare swung her spear to block the attack, but the moment when both the knife and the spear of light met, Aigis already changed her trajectory, quickly shifting her position to attack the Fallen Angel from another direction. With inhuman speed, Aigis circled around Raynare, attacking her from all directions as Raynare frantically blocked all the attacks from the battle maiden.

"What are you all waiting for?! Help me!" Raynare screamed to her fellow Fallen Angels. Three of them, Dohnaseek, Mittelt and Kalawarner tried to surround the battle android, intending to overpower her with their number. But before they could even bring down their weapons on her, Aigis released some kind of hot steam from her body, distracting them and blinding their vision. Aigis took her chance to use her backhand to push the Fallen Angels away. She managed to send both the busty woman, Kalawarner, and the middle-aged man, Dohnaseek, flying with a swing of her backhand. Due to her short stature, Mittelt didn't get hit by the android's fist as it just passed over her head, so Aigis grabbed the collar of her dress, much to the petite Fallen Angel's surprise before the battle maiden hurled her towards Raynare, sending both of them away from her.

Issei, who was watching the battle unfolding before his eyes, was stunned and amazed. He didn't know what happened, but it seemed that Aigis managed to overpower these four people all by herself.

"Don't let this get to your head, you bitch!" Raynare screamed madly before she spotted Issei. Apparently, when Aigis was battling four of them, the boy was left unprotected. Her lips curled up into a mad grin before she bellowed, "Now, let's see what will happen if I kill him!" Forming another spear of light, she hurled it towards Issei, who was too stunned and too terrified to move his body. From her position, there was no way Aigis could move to protect the boy.

Before the spear could reach him, however, a great shield bearing the frowning visage of Gorgon materialized just in front of Issei, blocking the spear. Then, a woman clad in a flowing white dress and golden accessories materialized herself just beside Issei. In her hand was a barbed spear that could not only be used to stab, but also to slice and cut.

"Hold on tight, child. Don't say a word, or else you may end up biting your tongue." The woman spoke to Issei with a voice filled with authority before she scooped him up under her arm and leaped backwards just by kicking the ground, distancing themselves away from the Fallen Angels. Grinding her teeth, Raynare pursued after her with two light spears in both hands, intending to attack both the woman and Issei. Gently, the woman put Issei down. "Stay there. Do not move if you value your life."

Absentmindedly, Issei nodded. Calmly, the woman, the patron goddess of Athens, Pallas Athena, stepped forward as she looked at the approaching Raynare.

"Don't get in my way!" Raynare bellowed. "I don't care what you are! I'm going to destroy you!"

Removing her helmet to expose her full head, Pallas Athena's grey eyes focused on the approaching Fallen Angel. She dropped her plumed war helmet to the ground. Letting her great shield, the Aegis, orbit around her, she held her barbed spear with both hands as she assumed a fighting stance.

"I shall see you try, you little rebel," Pallas Athena replied calmly. "Let us see whether you can even put a scratch on me with those spears of yours or not."

* * *

While Raynare was busy engaging in combat against the shield-bearing woman who suddenly showed herself, Kalawarner and Mittelt were trying their hardest to hit Aigis, to no avail. Dohnaseek went to assist the scantily-clad Fallen Angel as he realized that the woman might be too much for their leader to handle alone.

"It is time to end this," Aigis muttered. "Initiating weapon change. Harpe, stand ready." Her right arm glowed before her new weapon, a railgun that was specifically designed to be used by an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon like her appeared, mounted underneath her right forearm. She fired a few rounds of her bullets at both the Fallen Angels and leaped backwards to open a distance between her and them. "Take aim." She aimed to shoot at both the Fallen Angels, standing with both legs opened so that she could withstand the shockwave and the recoil generated from the shot before she pressed the red button on the handle. "Fire!"

A buzzing sound was heard when Aigis pressed the button before the shot was released. The bullet that was shot was an electrically powered electromagnetic projectile which was accelerated by the electromagnetic effect generated from the barrel of the railgun. The result was an explosion from the tip of the barrel with the bullet ejected, flying towards the intended target. Realizing the strength from the shot, both Mittelt and Kalawarner immediately jumped aside to avoid the shot, and the bullet ended up hitting a tree instead. The sheer power of the shot was enough to decimate the whole tree, leaving behind nothing but charred remains of the tree.

The shockwave from the shot was enough to rip apart the sleeve of Aigis' uniform, revealing her robotic arm and metal arm bracer. "Ah." Aigis lowered her arm. "It seems I need to calibrate this gun in order to aim properly. This is something that needs to be done in the future," she made a mental note to herself regarding her new weapon as she nodded to herself.

Both Kalawarner and Mittelt were stunned as they looked at what remained of the tree that was shot earlier. They didn't dare to imagine what would happen if they were hit by the bullet. Fallen Angels or not, being obliterated by a single bullet wasn't an enticing idea to be had in their heads. When they looked back at the one who released the shot, they immediately snapped themselves out of their daze before they charged forward in order to attack the mechanical maiden.

"Ah, it seems that I still have a battle to finish," Aigis spoke before she blocked two incoming light spears with her new weapon. She then stepped forward, propelling herself with her rocket propellers and closing the distance between her and both Fallen Angels before she swung down her new weapon like an over-sized tonfa. The Fallen Angels managed to avoid the attack, but the impact of the weapon the battle maiden wielded was enough to leave a crater in the ground. Eyes widened in astonishment, Kalawarner and Mittelt looked at the crater that was formed from the impact.

Seeing that her enemies were distracted, Aigis moved forward, still wielding her railgun like a tonfa before she swung it towards the closest one, Mittelt. The diminutive Fallen Angel was too stunned to even move, and when the attack was about to connect, she could barely brace herself as she was hit by the over-sized, improvised tonfa, sending her flying.

After sending Mittelt away with a powerful blow of her tonfa, Aigis turned to look at Kalawarner, whose visible eye was still widened in shock. She had already formed her light spear, but she had yet to hurl it at the battle android.

"W-what are you?" Kalawarner asked in exasperation while studying her opponent.

"I am Aigis…" Aigis replied. "I am an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, designed specifically to fight all oppositions, whether they be Shadows, monsters, humans, or even Fallen Angels like you. You have yet to land a hit on me, even though you are Fallen Angels." Her glowing blue eyes looked at the busty form of the Fallen Angel who stood before her, sending chills down the Fallen Angel's spine. "Now, allow me to fulfill my true purpose." She aimed her railgun at Kalawarner. "My true purpose is to destroy my enemies. Thus, I shall destroy you."

* * *

"Damn you!" Raynare snarled as her opponent wounded her yet again. Despite the fact that she was assisted by Dohnaseek, this woman not only fought them evenly, she also overpowered them. Whenever they tried to attack her by hurling their spears, her shield would block all of them. Whenever they tried to attack them in melee combat, she would effortlessly deflect and block all their attacks before inflicting more damage on their bodies.

"Now, where is that boastful claim of yours earlier, you roguish brat?" Pallas Athena asked, twirling her barbed spear before she pointed it at Raynare. "I have landed approximately forty-six wounds on that whorish body of yours, and you have yet to land even one on mine. Are you really that weak? It seems that you are only capable of wounding a helpless, unarmed boy like the one whose heart you just broke, Raynare…" the goddess of wisdom spat the name of the scantily clad Fallen Angel in distaste.

In response, Raynare cackled despite her injuries. "So what?! So what if I hurt Issei?! He's pathetic! He's a worm! He's nothing but a smudge of dirt just below my shoe! So what if I kill him?!"

Pallas Athena shook her head in disappointment. "Heh… Fallen Angels, even after falling down from the grace of their creator, still have the gall to act high and mighty. You fell because you are no longer under your God's blessing. You fell because you are no longer the one who basks under your God's glory. You fell because you are nothing but a smudge of dirt just below your God's shoe, Fallen Angel. You are nothing but a disgrace, an unwanted child whose role is to be thrown away. The black wings that you wear on your back with pride, they are nothing but the symbols of your disgrace."

"S-shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Raynare conjured dozens of light spears around her before she willed them to zoom towards Pallas Athena. Effortlessly, the goddess of wisdom just deflected all the spears with the help of her spear and shield. When Dohnaseek tried to attack her from behind, Pallas Athena spun and slammed her spear onto the male Fallen Angel's head, knocking him out cold. "Grr… who are you?! WHAT ARE YOU?!" Raynare screamed, conjuring two more light spears.

In an instant, Pallas Athena closed the distance between her and the Fallen Angel. Before Raynare could even react to it, Pallas Athena swung her barbed spear towards her right hand, cutting through the limb like a butter. Then, the goddess of wisdom smashed her shield against Raynare's face, knocking her down to the ground.

"MY ARM!" Raynare screamed in agony when she saw the bloody stump of her arm. Pallas Athena stabbed the severed hand of the Fallen Angel with her spear and lifted it. It twitched and shivered as blood leaked out from the stump. With Raynare's back on the ground, she tried to pick herself up, but Pallas Athena pressed her sandaled foot on her chest, pushing her down. The Fallen Angel could only look in horror as her severed hand disintegrated into ashes from the tip of Athena's spear.

"Do you wish to know what I am, little girl?" Pallas Athena asked. "I am Pallas Athena! The divine child of Zeus and Mother Metis! Patron goddess of Athens, the goddess of wisdom…" She pointed her barbed spear at Raynare's throat. "…And the one who will deliver a swift judgment on you, little fallen. A judgment that your creator had failed to deliver. Brace yourself, and remember my name as you fall even further into the realm of the dead." She raised her spear, preparing to stab the downed Fallen Angel through her skull between her eyes.

But before she could even do so, a few light spears flew towards the goddess of wisdom, causing her to shift her attention to her back, moving her Aegis to block the attack. Raynare took her chance to scamper away from the goddess' foot. The one who threw the spears was Dohnaseek, who regained consciousness just a while ago. His fedora was nowhere to be seen. He might have lost it sometime when Pallas Athena knocked him out earlier.

"Kalawarner! Mittelt! We're leaving!" Dohnaseek shouted to his fellow Fallen Angels as he continued to distract the goddess before he went to scoop up the horribly injured Raynare with both arms. His black wings expanded before he flapped them, propelling himself upwards as he carried the barely conscious Raynare in his arms.

"R-right!" Kalawarner responded, also expanding her wings as she held the unconscious Mittelt under her arm. Judging from her battered and bruised look, it was clear that she was soundly defeated by the battle android earlier.

And so, all the Fallen Angels escaped, barely with their lives. Both Aigis and Pallas Athena seemed to be unharmed from the battle earlier.

"Tch, cowards…" Pallas Athena hissed in disdain as she looked at those Fallen Angels that had become dots in the sky.

Dematerializing her railgun, Aigis immediately approached Issei, who was unharmed. "Issei-san, are you alright?"

"W-what… whuh…?" Issei was too shell-shocked to make any sense out of what he had seen earlier. Then, his eyes rolled back in his head before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Issei-san! What happened, Issei-san?!" Aigis shook Issei's prone body. "Did they somehow hurt you somewhere?" She was starting to panic over the thought that those Fallen Angels might have left some sort of curse on the poor boy's body. "Issei-san, answer me!"

"Little girl, he is unharmed…" Pallas Athena spoke. "Everything that happened to him was too much for his poor mind to handle. Please, let him rest."

A while later, they heard the sounds of wings flapping in the air before several figures landed right in front of them. They seemed to come from above.

"D-did we… did we make it?" One of them, the one with long, crimson hair panted. She saw the unconscious Issei who was being cradled by Aigis. "Aigis-san, w-what happened?"

Aigis looked at Rias Gremory and her group.

"You people are late. We already beat all those Fallen Angels," Aigis spoke, still holding the unconscious Issei.

Rias, alongside the members of her group, could only blink in confusion.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere outside the realm of mortals, at the top of Mount Olympus…

"Are you sure? Please, let not it be another false alarm. We've had enough of them for a millennia."

An elderly man with a white, long beard, dressed in a bluish-white toga was seen reclining on a throne made of diamonds. Before him was a man, clad in a rather luxurious pinstripe suit. Upon closer inspection, the man was hovering a few inches above the ground, and the posh leather shoes he was currently wearing seemed to have metallic wings on them.

"I am sure, Lord Zeus. It has been more than three thousand years already since that time…" the man in the pinstripe suit spoke to the elderly man on the throne.

Stroking his beard, the man, the ruler of Olympus, Zeus, nodded to himself. "Very well. Hermes, go and inform the rest of the Olympians regarding this matter."

"Your wish is my command, Lord Zeus," the man in the pinstripe suit, Hermes, spoke, bowing to the elderly man.

"Tell them, the lost daughter of Olympus has returned."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's me, Prince Arjuna. Thanks for the reviews that you had given for Chapter 5, they meant a lot for me. So, just to inform you guys, I will never turn Aigis into a Devil, period. Though the possibility for an android like her to be turned into a Devil will be explored in future chapters, she will not become a Devil. But that will just apply for her, the protagonist of the story. I am free to decide who may end up being reincarnated into a Devil from Persona side. And as you can see, the gods from Greek mythology will be jumping into the fray as well. In the original source materials, the Greek gods, or the Olympians only played some kind of minor roles and appeared as cameo, but for this fanfic, some of the gods will play a few major roles. The personalities of these gods will be adjusted according to how most gods and goddesses act in DxDverse.

And just for your information, the original idea for Chapter 5, I thought about introducing Labrys early, but then I decided to introduce Fuuka instead. I'm saving her for much later. Please look forward to it.

Of course, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It is nice to work alongside you.

So, this chapter is longer than the previous ones, and I hope you will like it. See you guys again in the next chapter, **Chapter 07: Silver Popess.**

**What I have planned:** In future chapters, Grigori Institute and Azazel will get their hands on ASW's schematic modules, and Azazel will end up modifying Aigis' body, saying that he will make her 'stronger, faster and more powerful' while cackling like an evil scientist.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	7. Silver Popess

"Please allow me to get this straight," the mechanical maiden spoke, focusing her blue eyes on the red-haired girl in front of her. "The reason why you were unable to reach Issei-san in time, in order to protect him from the Fallen Angels, is that they had somehow conjured a barrier of sort, which cannot be bypassed by normal means. And by the time you managed to break through the barrier, the Fallen Angels had already escaped. Am I wrong?"

The red-haired girl, Rias Gremory just sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, when you phrased it that way, it makes us seem pretty incompetent. Even so, the barrier was quite a complicated one, and Akeno took at least ten minutes to undo the barrier just so we could reach both of you." She shook her head and looked at Aigis apologetically. "And when we finally managed to reach you, the battle had already ended. It is my responsibility to keep Issei away from harm, and yet I failed to do so. I have to apologize to you that you had to clean up for the mistakes I made. I resurrected him to become a Devil, and yet I was unable to protect him from those Fallen Angels."

From the look on Rias' face, it looked like she felt responsible for the attack on Issei Hyoudou from those Fallen Angels.

"Ara, don't be so hard on yourself, Buchou..." the raven-haired, busty form of female who was seated beside Rias spoke to her. "At least we can be thankful that Issei-kun is safe, thanks to Aigis-san, of course. If Aigis-san weren't there, something worse probably would happen to Issei-kun."

Rias looked at the girl, Akeno before she smiled. "Well, I suppose you're right, Akeno."

All of them, including both Aigis and Issei, were in the clubroom of the Occult Research Club. After Raynare and her lackeys escaped barely with their lives, they went back to school, bringing the unconscious Issei along with them. When the perverted boy regained his consciousness, Rias started telling him the truth regarding his new status as a Devil, and the reason why the Fallen Angels went to attack him. Apparently, he possessed some kind of tool that made him a target of those Fallen Angels. And the tool in question was, of course, a Sacred Gear. Issei's eyes widened in amazement as his left arm was covered in a red gauntlet with an emerald jewel embedded on the back of his hand. When Aigis eyed the gauntleted arm of the newly-reincarnated Devil, she could feel power radiating from it. Rias told them that the name of the Sacred Gear is Twice Critical, a common type of Sacred Gear that took the form of a gauntlet.

Aigis somehow noticed that the Persona that was born from her bond with Issei Hyoudou, Conell Cernach, was grinning madly upon detecting the enormous presence from the red gauntlet the boy wore. When Aigis asked the Irish warrior about it, he just chuckled mysteriously.

Then, Rias also explained all the perks of being a Devil serving under her, including the possibility for him to make a harem for himself. The boy perked his head in excitement over learning the fact that the path of becoming a Harem King was no longer impossible for him. Apparently, he took the fact about him being no longer a human rather well.

"Now, putting all those aside," Rias said, before her eyes shifted to look at one particular woman who was elegantly sipping her tea while seated beside Aigis. She was with both Aigis and Issei when Rias and her group found them. Her curly, strawberry brown hair was styled into elegant ringlets, giving her an aura of regality that compelled those around her to fall on their knees in reverence. The golden accessories she wore, especially the golden shoulder guards and the way she carried herself made everything around her to be completely dwarfed by her sheer presence. A Greek war helmet with crimson plume was rested on her lap as she enjoying her cup of tea. The look she made while tasting the beverage seemed to tell everyone within the vicinity that the tea was passable enough to be palatable. "I do not wish to be rude, but I also want to know who you are and the reason you were there when we arrived at the scene."

The woman looked at Rias with her grey eyes, and Rias could barely stop herself from flinching upon seeing such eyes. Those eyes seemed to be studying her, scanning her, as if trying to discern her weakest points. It felt like the moment their eyes met, the woman had already come up with a hundred ways of defeating her without even lifting her finger. The woman sighed before she put down her teacup and spoke. "Very well, little Devil. Since you already asked nicely, I see no reason to refuse. You can say that I have many names. Some called me The Mentor, some others called me The Protector. Those accursed Romans called me Minerva. But I suppose you can call me Pallas Athena, or Athena. I am an Olympian, the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Rias Gremory. And for you all as well, little Devils."

Rias blinked a few times. The others in her group also did the same.

"You broke them, Athena." Aigis commented.

"Quiet, you..." Athena hushed. She seemed to be savoring the looks the Devils made upon learning her true identity. "It is not always a goddess such as me can reveal myself to the mortals. It reminds me of the time when I dealt with that intriguing mortal named Odysseus, while disguising myself as an old man."

"So, that was how the word 'mentor' came into being." Aigis deadpanned in robotic tone. "Still, could you not at least disguise yourself as a female instead? The mental image of a beautiful woman like you turning into a decrepit old man with scraggly beard is so hard to get rid of. And I am an android, which is saying something."

Athena raised one eyebrow upon hearing Aigis' statement. "Getting sassy, are you not, little girl? Well, heroic and righteous as he might be, but of all positive qualities that could be found in Odysseus, fidelity is not one of them. Well, scratch that. Out of all Greek heroes, Perseus was the only one who tried to at least be faithful to his wife. Try to imagine what kind of situation that might happen if I appeared before him as a female. There is a reason why there are goddesses such as me, Hestia and Artemis who swore off men. As you can see, men are such lustful creatures, they will rather think using their loins instead of brains, once they are overcome by their libido." She pointedly looked at one particular pervert in the room. "Like this child, for example. I suppose we can say that his head is filled with all erotic things which can even make Greeks blush."

Upon hearing that, Issei scratched the back of his head sheepishly. One particular girl in the group, Koneko, crossed her arms over her chest as she nodded a few times, as if in agreement with the goddess.

"If that what you insist, Mentor..." Aigis shrugged, speaking in her monotonous, robotic tone.

"You know what? If there is one thing I regret, it is the fact that I taught you how to do sarcasm." Athena said dryly. "You are so insufferable when you are being sarcastic, little girl."

The banter between the android and the goddess of wisdom was abruptly interrupted by the cough from the red-haired Devil. "Yes, both of you are very pretty, so can we please return to the subject at hand?" Both Aigis and Athena looked at Rias, focusing their attentions at her. "Thank you. So..." she looked at Athena. "A goddess. An Olympian, to be exact. Okay." She pinched the bridge of her nose. It was just like the day when she learned the existence of a robot like Aigis all over again. "So...Lady Athena, for what reason did you come here in the first place? Are the Olympians starting to gain their interests regarding the issues between the Devils and the Fallen Angels?" Rias asked.

Pallas Athena smiled. "Well, I suppose you do know how to use that pretty head of yours, Rias Gremory. Regarding your question, however, I think I phrased my words poorly when I introduced myself earlier. It is true that I am Pallas Athena, with all her powers and her memories, but at the same time, I am not really Pallas Athena, at least not the one residing at the top of Mount Olympus."

Rias and her group blinked in confusion.

"Ah," then, one of the Devils serving under Rias, Yuuto Kiba managed to connect all the dots after listening to what Athena had told them. "So, you are a Persona, then?" He remembered the conversation that he had with Aigis some days ago.

"Yuuto?" Rias glanced at her Knight, frowning. It seemed that he knew more about this than her.

Kiba looked at Aigis. "Aigis-san, you said that a Persona is a manifestation of one's thought which is shaped from one's imaginations and beliefs. If that is really the case, then Lady Athena here is shaped from the people's beliefs based on their understanding about Olympians and Greek mythology." When the rest of the Devils gave the blond boy a bewildered look, he continued, "In other words, you are a copy of the original Athena herself, who is currently at the top of Mount Olympus, yet is perfectly undistinguishable from the original herself, because you retain all her memories and her powers."

Pallas Athena looked pleased. "Ah, splendid. It's been a while since someone managed to piece together all the small details, and came up with something completely precise. Will you enlighten me by telling me your name, child?" Athena asked the boy.

"Yuuto Kiba, ma'am. I am Rias Gremory's Knight. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Kiba introduced himself to the goddess.

Meanwhile, Aigis deadpanned, again in her robotic tone, "That was completely and utterly unnecessary, Athena. You already know his name. You just want to act all mysterious again, do you not?"

Athena threw Aigis a dirty look. "Now you're just being rude, little girl. I did not teach you rudeness, did I?"

While both Athena and Aigis started bantering yet again, Athena with her prideful remarks and Aigis with her deadpan and robotic statements, Rias looked at Kiba. "How did you manage to learn all these? Did you forget to mention this to me?" Rias asked with hushed tone.

"Well, I thought it wasn't an important matter to be brought up, I didn't tell you about this." Kiba admitted. "I'm sorry about that, Buchou."

Rias sighed. Things had become a tad complicated lately since the appearance of this android girl. She looked at both Aigis and Pallas Athena, who were still exchanging banters. It seemed like they had done the same thing many times before.

"Ara, I guess they'll be bickering for quite a while, Rias." Akeno commented, seemingly amused by the situation before their eyes. After all, it's not like they could always see something like this.

As for Issei, he could only blink in confusion as both Aigis and the goddess continued bickering with each other.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 07: Silver Popess**

After both Aigis and Pallas Athena seemed to be done with their bantering, the android girl finally dismissed the goddess of wisdom, allowing her to return into the sea of her soul, the place where she was born from.

Rias sighed, still trying to alleviate the headache she was currently experiencing. "That was too much for me to handle," she admitted. Then, she looked at Aigis. "Even so, you have our gratitude, Aigis-san, for saving one of the members of my peerage. Granted, he's still new and he didn't even know about this at that time. But still, you really helped us out again. We owe you one on this."

Aigis smiled as she shook her head. "Please do not mention it, Gremory-san. I just did what I thought was right. After all, the thought about a friend of mine being hurt does not sit well with me. Helping him out is something natural to be done." She nodded to herself after saying that.

"Ara, that was so nice of you, Aigis-san," the Vice-President of the Occult Research Club, Akeno spoke, smiling at the android with an amused smile. "We're glad that Issei-kun has such a nice friend as you."

Then, Aigis noticed that Issei was staring at her. Blinking a few times, she decided to ask him about it.

"What is the matter, Issei-san?" Aigis asked the pervert. "Is something on your mind?"

"W-well… yeah." the newly-reincarnated Devil answered. "So, umm… you're a robot, right?"

"An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, to be exact. But if you wish to oversimplify things, then yes. I am a robot," Aigis answered, nodding.

"And you can use magic too, and get that gorgeous lady to aid you by your side," Issei continued.

"Persona, to be precise, and that gorgeous lady you spoke of is Pallas Athena. Why do you ask?" Aigis inquired.

"Well... I dunno where to start, to be honest. Things have gotten pretty hectic since yesterday. So, I'm a Devil now, and my neighbor in classroom is a robot who can use magic. That's a major turn of event for a previously ordinary high-school boy like me, you see?" Issei said.

"So? Does it bother you that I am secretly a robot?" Aigis asked, studying the boy.

"No, I won't say I'm bothered. If anything..." the boy's lips curled up into a smile. "It's cool, you know? I mean, holy crap, my classmate's a robot! It feels like something that comes out straight from an anime! And she can use magic too!" He sounded enthusiastic. "Tell me if that doesn't sound awesome!"

"I suppose if you put it that way, there's some kind of romanticism in that," Akeno nodded.

"I see..." Aigis was glad when Issei said that. Then she became slightly worried as another question came up into her mind. "T-then... do you still consider me a friend, Issei-san?"

Issei gave Aigis a funny look, as if she had asked him a stupid question. "What are you saying, Ai-chan? Of course you're my friend! I mean, someone who saved me from being killed by those mean Fallen Angels has to be my friend! There's also the time when you saved me from getting caught by those girls when they found out that I was peeking on them. Thanks to you, I still can pursue the path of being a Harem King, and with that, my dream of having countless pairs of Oppai to grope will be realized!" He made groping motion as he exclaimed his desire with such zeal.

Rias and Akeno reacted to this by smiling, as if in amusement. The same could be said for Kiba, who then mentioned that Issei was a funny guy. As for Koneko, however, she scowled as she looked at the pervert in disgust.

"You should have left him to those girls instead." Koneko said to Aigis. It seemed that she was the only one who was unhappy with Issei's perverted tendency.

After noticing that it was already late, Aigis stood up from her seat. "I shall take my leave now, then. And thank you for this spare uniform you lent to me, Himejima-san. The one that I wore was damaged when I fought the Fallen Angels." Due to her using Harpe, the new weapon that she got from Mitsuru, the shockwave generated from the high-powered railgun destroyed the right sleeve of the uniform, and left the rest in tatters. So, she ended up borrowing a spare uniform from the raven-haired busty girl.

"Ara, please don't mention it, Aigis-san." Akeno replied.

Then, Aigis looked at Rias. "Since Issei-san will be under your care from now on, please watch over him for me, Gremory-san. And please tell me immediately if there is something that needs my attention."

Rias nodded. "I'll see what I can do about that, Aigis-san. And you too. Feel free to ask our help," she smiled at the blond battle android.

"Yes." Aigis said. "I'll see you tomorrow at class, Issei-san. Good day." and so, she left the old schoolhouse.

After the battle maiden left, Kiba went to explain some other details regarding the contracting and some other things to Issei, and the boy seemed to not like it since he would prefer either Rias or Akeno to do the explanation. The fact that Kiba was quite a bishounen also didn't help either. As for the President of the club, Rias, she was sitting on the couch, her brow furrowed as if deep in thought.

Noticing this, Akeno went to Rias' side, sitting beside her on the couch. "Penny for your thoughts, Rias?"

Rias glanced at Akeno, the Vice-President of the club, as well as her Queen in the peerage before she sighed. "I've been thinking, Akeno."

"I can perfectly see that," Akeno said. "Let me guess. It has something to do with our resident robot girl, hasn't it?" She smiled teasingly at her Buchou. "What, are you considering recruiting her into your peerage?" She asked.

"Well, that's a thing too." Rias said. "We have seen her in battle, right? She fought all those Fallen Angels without trouble, and from what both Aigis and Issei had told us, she managed to overpower all four of them without problem. And there's also this power of hers to consider..." she recalled her meeting with the goddess of wisdom earlier.

"Ah, do you mean Persona?" Akeno asked.

"Yes. It is my first time hearing such a thing. From what Yuuto had told us, Persona is the manifestation of one's thought, which takes the shapes of legendary and mythological figures based from one's imaginations and beliefs." Rias recalled the explanation regarding Aigis' mysterious power. "Such explanation is just too good to be true. The power of imagination." She looked at Akeno. "Do you know what that would mean, Akeno?"

"All sentient beings, be they humans or Devils, are capable of imagining things. It is just their nature to be creative..." Akeno said. "Imagine what can happen if one's thought or imagination being turned into reality. It can be quite a fearsome power to be had." They had seen it beforehand, when Aigis conjured a godly being merely by using the power of her thought. As far as they were concerned, Pallas Athena was one of the high-ranked deities of Greek pantheon, and also one of the Olympians. Not only that, she was also known as the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, making her a terrifying opponent that one could face in battle. The idea of someone being able to order such a powerful existence around to do their bidding was quite frightening.

"Yes, you are right." Rias nodded. "So, with all the powers she has, she can become a powerful Bishop. And from what we saw the other day, judging from her speed while battling Gremda and the monsters, she can be a Knight too."

"Yet you didn't make the offer," Akeno stated. "Why is that?"

"Because we still don't know whether an Evil Piece can work on someone like her or not. And there's also the fact that we still don't know for sure which faction she belongs to. She has hinted that she was sent here under someone's order," Rias reasoned. "For all we know, she might be lying through her teeth about the nature of her power. She might belong to the Olympians as a spy to observe us, the Devils. Or she might belong to a cabal of magicians, with her as some kind of familiar or automaton golem to be sent here to spy on us."

"That was surprisingly negative of you, Buchou." Akeno said, raising one eyebrow. "Even so, do you believe she's been lying to us?"

With a sigh, Rias replied, "Honestly, no. The way she speaks sounds so earnest, and you can't help yourself but to believe what she says to you. And she has been helping us twice, first by helping us to eliminate the stray Devil Gremda, and second by helping and saving the new member of my peerage from being killed by Fallen Angels. She has no gain by doing the latter, besides helping a friend in need." She glanced at Issei, who was getting annoyed by Kiba's 'nice guy' demeanor. "So, I don't believe she can be a bad person, at least from what we have seen."

Akeno frowned. "And yet you still suspect her for being a spy?"

"Well, it won't hurt to be cautious. We have yet to prove where her true allegiance lies, and the only thing that we can do right now is to continue observing her and her movements. I should start sending out my familiar to observe her soon so that we can learn the true motive of her being here and also the faction she belongs to..." Rias said. "I can only hope any potential shenanigans because of her won't cause an all-out conflict between all three factions."

Akeno nodded in agreement. "Yes. Just think of all the collateral damages if that thing really happens."

Both Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy sighed in unison as each of them pinched the bridge of her nose. They had a feeling that they might have gotten themselves into a kind of troublesome situation that they would rather avoid at all costs, and they could tell that it would involve something that might cause massive headache for both of them.

In the meantime, Issei was knocked out cold by Koneko with an uppercut under his chin. It seemed that she already had enough of all the perverted things he said.

* * *

The next day, after the end of school session, Aigis immediately returned home to make a phone call in order to contact her superior, Mitsuru Kirijo. When her call finally reached her, she could hear the voice of the CEO of the global conglomerate.

_"Hello, Aigis. Do you have something to report?"_ Mitsuru's voice sounded like usual; firm and unyielding, as expected from the ice empress herself.

"About that..." Aigis began, and it seemed that Mitsuru was expecting a headache incoming. "I got myself involved in some sort of conflict between two of the three factions I had mentioned to you days ago. There was a boy, who happened to be a classmate of mine, who was targeted by the faction of Fallen Angels. He was killed due to some reasons, probably due to the fact that he has something in his possession which is called a Sacred Gear, and as a result, was resurrected as a Devil by Rias Gremory. When the Fallen Angels found out that the boy who was supposedly killed was still alive, they went after him to finish the job. I couldn't stand the idea of one of the people whom I considered as a friend to be killed and die meaninglessly. So I ended up getting in their way and defeated them. I managed to incapacitate their leader, knocking one of them out cold and leaving the rest injured. And that concludes my report, Mitsuru-san." Aigis ended her report.

Judging from the silence, it was clear that Mitsuru was having trouble digesting all the new information from the battle maiden. Aigis could tell that the red-haired heiress was pinching the bridge of her nose already. After a while, she heard Mitsuru letting out a heavy sigh.

_"The reason why I don't keep an aspirin handy while listening to your report is beyond me, to be honest."_ Mitsuru began. _"But, I see. Did Yamagishi get herself involved too?"_ Aigis could detect worry in Mitsuru's tone. She might be worried that Fuuka, a noncombatant among the Persona-users might be involved in the conflict as well.

"No, she did not. Though she almost cried when I told her about this encounter. She was concerned that I might be hurt while fighting the Fallen Angels." Aigis informed her superior. She had spent almost half an hour to comfort the young woman, telling her that she was alright and she wasn't hurt in the slightest.

_"I see. So, has Rias Gremory come to know your involvement in this conflict?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"Affirmative. Due to the fact that the boy I rescued is a Devil who served under her, my involvement has become a common knowledge for Rias Gremory and her group." Aigis said. "Is there something wrong I did, Mitsuru-san? Did I jeopardize my mission?"

Mitsuru seemed to be thinking about it for a while before answering, _"No, you did not. I believe what you did for the boy who is your classmate and friend is a right decision to make. You did a right choice to save him from being killed. Even though we still don't know what the Devils are up to, there is nothing wrong in helping someone in need. As your superior and your friend, I am proud of you."_ Aigis could hear approval in Mitsuru's tone, suggesting that she agreed with the actions Aigis had made.

"I see. Thank you, Mitsuru-san." Aigis smiled.

_"Is there anything else you wish to report?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"None, so far, but may I ask you something? How is my sister doing? Is she doing fine?" The battle android asked about her sister's wellbeing.

_"Ah, Labrys. She's doing fine, do not worry about it. I had told her about sending her to be enrolled into Kuoh Academy to accompany you, and she seemed to be rather ecstatic about it. She seemed to miss you too, Aigis."_ Mitsuru said. Aigis smiled, feeling relieved that Labrys was doing fine over there.

"I'm glad. Please send my regards to her, Mitsuru-san. Please tell her that I miss her too." Aigis said.

_"Yes, I shall do that. Is that all?"_

"Yes. I will call you next time." And the phone call ended. Aigis put her phone on the table before she looked at her capsule seat. At first, she thought about putting herself into 'sleep-mode', but then, she decided that she could do something better than sleeping.

She decided to go to town. She removed her school uniform, folding the clothes neatly before putting on her black suit and black shoes. She had no other clothes besides the suits and her school uniform, so she would be wearing a suit while going to town. It was uncommon for a girl like her to wear a suit while taking a walk around the town, but there was nothing wrong about it. After putting on her red necktie, she stepped out of her apartment, locking the door before she got on the bus to town.

When she arrived at the town and walked down the street, she noticed that some people were whispering to each other as they saw her, attired in formal suit with red necktie. With the suit on, she somehow looked like a secret government agent. But that's all. She had seen some people wearing something even weirder, like a massive, muscled man clad in magical girl cosplay walking around the town, waving a magical girl's wand as he walked down the street. Compared to that, her appearance was relatively normal.

As the mechanical maiden walked down the street, she couldn't help but to notice a few couples around the area, walking alongside each other while holding hands. A pang of nostalgia came over her - as she recalled the short time she had together with a certain boy, a boy who was currently out of her reach, standing between humanity's darkest desire and Death.

She closed her eyes, recalling the time when she finally confessed her feeling to him, despite the anguish she felt over the fact that she could never be the same like him - a human being who could enjoy the warmth of a loved one. She might have developed a human's heart, and yet her body was still made of steel and wires. She was still a machine. A maiden-shaped machine, yet a machine nonetheless.

That fact didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her tenderly. The image of a blue-haired boy giving her a loving embrace as his strong arm stroked her back didn't fail to make her cheeks rosy red. The battle maiden immediately shook her head in frantic way, thinking that if she continued thinking about it, she might get herself short-circuited. Placing her hand on her chest, she took a deep breath. Despite the unnecessariness of such gesture, considering that she was a machine, doing so seemed to help the battle maiden to calm herself down.

Aigis stopped in front of a pet shop, and from outside the shop, she could see what was inside through the large glass window. She could see a little boy begging his mother to buy a rather cute little pooch, fluffy and white-furred. The mother just sighed in resignation before she nodded, smiling at her son. Overjoyed, the boy went to take the pooch and hugged it lovingly. Just seeing such thing was enough to make the battle android smile.

The joy that was displayed on the boy's innocent visage was something that she had sworn to protect. It was thanks to _his_ sacrifice that the boy was still able to smile beautifully like that, and she would like to preserve it, honoring the selfless sacrifice that was made by the boy she loved the most. That would be the best course of action she could do in order to lessen the burden of being the one to stop Erebus from reaching Nyx.

After that, she continued walking. Thinking that she could use a seat, she went to search for a bench. It's not like she was tired. She was still a machine, after all. It's just that she wanted to stop and have a time to think about everything. As one would say, she would like to have an introspection over her life.

When she found a bench, she noticed that someone was already seated on it. A female, attired in a dark teal, long-skirted dress and a bluish-white veil over her head, was sitting on the bench, holding her hands together as if in prayer. Aigis looked down to look at the woman's feet, and found out that she was wearing a pair of brown boots. These shoes looked old enough to be displayed in a museum, instead of being worn by someone.

"Excuse me, but is the seat taken?" Aigis asked the female, and the female jerked her head slightly, her prayer interrupted. The veil she was wearing seemed to conceal the upper part of her head, covering her eyes. After a few seconds, the female looked at the empty spot beside her on the bench before she looked back at the battle maiden.

"...No." the female answered simply, her voice sounded soft, tone subdued.

"Would you mind if I sit beside you?" Aigis asked again. Then female answered by shaking her head. Smiling, Aigis spoke, "Thank you. Please excuse me, then." She moved to sit beside the female, who resumed her prayer.

For a while, there was silence, though the female seemed to be reciting something in low volume, probably a prayer of sort. Upon closer inspection, Aigis could see the female's blond hair that was covered under her veil, and also her face that was shadowed by the veil, youthful in appearance and quite pretty. The battle maiden deduced that she might be around fifteen or sixteen years old in age, and her slight European look indicated that she wasn't a Japanese in ethnicity.

The silence then was abruptly broken by a growling sound which came from the young, European female seated beside Aigis. The mechanical maiden blinked several times after hearing the sound. The female also stopped praying, lowering her head as she pressed her hand on her stomach.

Aigis understood it right away. "Are you... by any chance, hungry?" The battle maiden asked.

The veiled female nodded weakly.

"And you don't have money with you, correct?" Aigis inquired.

For the second time, she nodded.

Thinking that there was only one proper course of action to be made, Aigis got up from the bench, holding out her gloved hand to the female as she stood in front of her, smiling gently. "Follow me, then. Let's get something for you to eat, shall we?"

The veiled female looked up at the battle android, her beautiful green eyes could be seen from under the veil she wore.

"Come on. Hunger is also an enemy that shall be defeated." Aigis added.

Finally smiling, the veiled female nodded and answered, "Yes!" The silver cross hanging on her neck moved as she nodded before she reached out to grab the nice, suit-clad lady's gloved hand.

* * *

Aigis brought the European young female to a nearby bakery shop, and they ended up buying a dozen of cinnamon buns for her. The battle maiden paid for the purchase as the female carried the paper bag which contained the buns while humming happily. She also had removed the veil that covered her head earlier, folding it neatly before putting it into her pocket. Without the veil on, her long, blond hair could be seen much clearer.

"Thank you for treating me, miss. May the God bless you..." the blonde girl said, as she walked alongside her before she took out one of the cinnamon buns and took a small bite. She seemed to enjoy the taste. "Would you like some too?" She asked.

Being an android that was made without the function to consume food, it was natural for Aigis to decline. "Thank you, but it shouldn't be necessary. After all, I bought all of them for you." Aigis smiled at the blonde girl beside her as they continued walking down the street, going back to the bench where they were seated earlier.

"Umm..." The young, blond girl fidgeted. "I'm sorry for imposing upon your kindness, m-miss." When they finally arrived at the bench, they took their seats beside each other. "My name is Asia, by the way."

"Asia?" Aigis blinked. "Do you mean, a continent?"

The girl, Asia giggled as she shook her head. "No, no. I mean, that's my name. My name is Asia Argento. I am pleased to meet you, miss."

"Asia... Argento," Aigis spoke the girl's name. "Yes, pleased to meet you too, Argento-san. Argento means 'silver', and the cross you are currently wearing is also silver. A fitting name," she nodded.

Asia blushed slightly. "T-thank you, but you can just call me Asia. Umm… how about you, miss? What is your name?"

At first, she thought about telling this Asia her real name, Aigis, but then, she decided to tell her the shortened version of her name instead. "You can call me Ai, then."

"Ai-san, then." Asia nodded. "In this country, Ai means 'love'." Asia smiled brightly. "It's such a beautiful name, Ai-san. It's a very fitting name for someone beautiful like you."

"Love..." Aigis blinked. In a way, Asia was right. If her shortened name is transliterated into kanji, her name can be translated as 'love'. It was probably a coincidence, since she was named Aigis during her development as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. Even so, it's her first time having someone telling her that her name was beautiful. "I see. Thank you, Asia-san." She smiled at the shorter girl.

Then, Asia somehow became anxious. "Umm... d-did I say something wrong, Ai-san?" The shorter girl asked nervously. "D-did you not like it when I said your name is beautiful?"

Noticing her worry, Aigis shook her head. "No, you said nothing wrong, Asia-san. As a matter of fact, I am happy. You're the first one to ever say my name is beautiful, Asia-san. I am touched." She smiled kindly at Asia, who also returned the gesture with a bashful smile.

"I'm glad..." Asia said, relief spreading over her face.

And so, Asia continued eating the cinnamon buns. Because she was eating the buns with small bites, it took a while before she finally finished all the buns. When she was done, Asia held her hands together, praying.

"We give thanks to Thee, O Almighty God, that Thou hast satisfied us with Thy earthly blessings; deprive us not also of Thy heavenly Kingdom." Asia recited her prayer in solemn tone as she held her hands together. "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages and ages."

Then she gazed up to the sky and continued her prayer.

"Grant mercy upon us, O Lord. Grant mercy upon us, O Lord. Grant mercy upon us, O Lord," the blond girl was looking at the sky, as if hoping that the one above would listen to her solemn prayer. "Blessed is God, Who has fed and nourished us with His bountiful gifts by His grace and compassion always, now and ever and unto ages and ages." Then, she made the sign of a cross upon herself, first by touching her forehead, "in nomine Patris," to her chest, "et Filii," to across her shoulders, "et Spiritus Sancti," before holding her hands together again. "Amen."

Aigis, who was watching and listening Asia doing her prayer, blinked several times before she spoke, "Asia-san, are you, by any chance, a nun?" If that was the case, then it made sense that she wore a veil a while ago.

Lowering her hands, Asia looked at Aigis. "Ah," she thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I'm a nun," after a pause, she added as she lowered her head a bit. "Or at least, I was." She smiled weakly.

Aigis could see the sad look in Asia's green eyes, and she thought that it might be something that she would rather not talk about. "I see..." the battle android mused.

"So, umm... I guess I should take my leave now," Asia said before she stood up. "It is so nice talking with you, Ai-san. And thank you for the buns you bought for me. I will remember to repay for your kindness someday," she smiled sweetly at Aigis. Then, she bowed. "May the God watch over you, always..."

"For you too, Asia-san," Aigis returned the gesture. Being a machine, she was not a believer of God, as her existence was a work of men, and yet she did so anyway, returning the gesture that was made by Asia. "May the God bless you..."

And so, she left. Aigis closed her eyes, touching her chest with her gloved right hand. A while ago, she could feel a slight tug within the sea of her soul, telling her that her understanding in a girl named Asia Argento had granted her another boost of power that took the shape of an empty, blank card.

_The Popess._

As always, her Personas surrounded this newly-formed card, with each of them responding to its formation in their own way.

Pallas Athena, as usual, was studying the card with academic curiosity.

Palladion, being a statue of the previously-mentioned goddess, threw an empty stare at the card.

Galahad was observing the card, smiling to himself as he cited the warmth the newly-forged bond radiated.

Conell Cernach complained that he wanted to have a bite of one of those cinnamon buns, earning him the blunt end of Athena's spear on his head.

As for Orpheus, he was playing the catchy tune of Yakety Sax using his lyre - which was quite a big accomplishment, considering that the song was commonly played with a variety of musical instruments, and the ultimate musician was just using his lyre. The significance of this, however, was lost to the mechanical maiden. Why would he play the tune, nobody had any idea.

The people who walked down the street would notice a young, beautiful lady with chin-length blond hair, clad in a rather posh black suit and red necktie, sitting on a bench, furrowing her brow as if deep in thought. Despite being such a curious sight to behold, they ultimately ignored her, thinking that she might be having a day of the month. They thought that it might be rude to poke into her business, especially when a young lady like her was experiencing such a day.

* * *

Near the outskirt of the town, there was a church, which seemed to have been abandoned. Upon quick glance, there was nothing out of ordinary regarding this structure, but when inspected even closer, one could see that all religious symbols such as crosses had been smashed down to pieces.

Then, there was a middle-aged man, clad in a trench coat which made him stick out like a sore thumb in broad daylight, hurriedly running towards the entrance of the church, carrying something in his hand.

As he entered the church, he saw a voluptuous woman, whose hair seemed to cover one of her eyes. He let out a grunt as he approached her.

"For us Fallen Angels to rely on human medications is just beyond embarrassing..." the middle-aged man said grumpily as he handed the woman the plastic bag he was carrying. "I mean, their painkiller can only barely stop the pain for a brief period of time, while their ointment is unable to regenerate the lost flesh. The reason why human race managed to survive to this era with this level of advancement in medicine is beyond me, to be honest."

The voluptuous woman, attired in a rather provocative outfit just shrugged. "Well, we are still unable to reach Azazel-sama and the Grigori Institute to ask for their help, and our Priestess is nowhere to be seen these last few days. So, all we can do right now is to rely on these human's medicines." She took out a bottle of antiseptic ointment from the plastic bag before she read the label. "They're probably not much, but considering our current situation, this is the only thing we can manage right now, Dohnaseek."

The middle-aged man, the Fallen Angel named Dohnaseek, sighed heavily. "I knew it." He grumbled. "I knew this mission is going to be a disaster. Azazel-sama ordered us to just observe the boy, then Raynare got a really brilliant idea to kill him instead. And it the fact that Raynare is a lunatic little bitch didn't help either. It's like having to face three disasters at the same time, and it sucks," he sighed again. For the usually battle-hungry Fallen Angel like him to sigh like that, it sure felt rather surreal. "By the way, Kalawarner, where's Mittelt? Is she still unconscious?" Dohnaseek looked at the female Fallen Angel, Kalawarner.

"She woke up just a while ago, but from the look on her face, it is clear that she's so deeply traumatized by the encounter with that girl." Kalawarner answered. Then she looked at Dohnaseek. "That girl...she is not human, is she?"

Dohnaseek scrunched up his brow. He was recalling the encounter with that girl, during their attempt to kill Issei Hyoudou after finding out that he was still alive - which was met with a disastrous failure. "I saw her kind before, at the research laboratory of Grigori Institute." He looked at Kalawarner, his eyes serious. "She is what humans call a 'robot'. Or an android, an automaton which is humanoid in shape. I saw a few of them before." Then his expression turned grim. "But to see such an automaton that is capable of perfect, articulated speech and is capable of not only overpowering one, but four Fallen Angels all by herself..." the male Fallen Angel adjusted his fedora after sighing. "Honestly speaking, I don't know what to think of anymore. This whole thing is not only stupid, but also confusing beyond imagining."

Kalawarner nodded in agreement. "I suppose this is what we get by disobeying Azazel-sama's direct order to just observe the boy. And don't forget about that woman too. The one who claimed to be the goddess of wisdom of Greek pantheon."

When Kalawarner mentioned about that one particular woman, Dohnaseek shuddered. "Pallas Athena, one of the twelve Olympians, the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare and also the patron goddess of Athens. It is said that those who face her in battle will surely be taken down. And she is also the bearer of the ultimate shield, the Aegis. At that time, she effortlessly took down Raynare without even breaking a sweat, before cutting off her arm with that spear of hers." The male Fallen Angel took a deep breath before he continued. "And it was clear that she was just holding back while facing us. If she went all out, we might have ended up as bloody smear on the ground already."

"That being said..." Kalawarner spoke. "What is a goddess of Greek pantheon doing here, in this land? Are the Olympians starting to gain interest in Sacred Gears, especially the one the boy currently has? And why would they send Pallas Athena, out of all people they could send? And for what reason she might have to assist that girl? Is she from their side too? Or are they accomplices or allied to each other?" Many questions were said about everything that had happened.

Then, both Fallen Angels fell silent.

"This is just too much..." Kalawarner grumbled, breaking the silence. "I never thought I might get myself involved in such a mess." The busty female Fallen Angel sighed in dejection. "If only I stayed behind at the Institute to help out Penemue-sama instead, these things might not happen to me."

"I concur," Dohnaseek nodded. "While I don't really mind fighting stronger opponents, I'm not really that thrilled with the idea of fighting a powerful deity like Pallas Athena anytime soon, especially after what she done to our dear leader. Raynare may be a lunatic little bitch, but she's still our leader, who is stronger than even three of us combined. If she could take her down without even breaking a sweat, I'm not really that thrilled to imagine what kind of thing she will do to me." Dohnaseek closed his eyes before he shook his head. "No, nope. Not going to imagine it. Not at all."

Suddenly, a door which would lead to the rooms where they used to sleep in was opened, revealing the disheveled figure of Raynare, dark rings could be seen below her eyes. From the mad look on her face alone, both Kalawarner and Dohnaseek could tell that she was totally not pleased by current events. The purple-eyed Fallen Angel wrapped her scantily-clad body with an old blanket, but it still didn't hide the severed stump of her right arm, which was wrapped in a gauze. A splotch of blood could be seen on the gauze.

"Ah," Kalawarner began. "She's awake." she observed before looking at the male Fallen Angel beside her.

"Yes." Dohnaseek nodded. "Here we go again..." he drawled lazily, as if the same thing had happened a few times before.

"Where is she?" Raynare began, her tone sounded dangerously low.

"Oh? Do you mean the Priestess?" Dohnaseek asked. "She somehow disappeared since a few days ago. And I don't think she can help you with your situation, Raynare. Her Sacred Gear can't regenerate lost limbs, don't you know that?"

"Not that brat, you blithering idiot!" Raynare bellowed, her violet eyes flashing with anger. "That bitch..." she growled. "That bitch who cut off my arm... where is she? WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Welp, it seems that the goddess of wisdom has left quite an impression on our esteemed leader, Dohnaseek..." Kalawarner commented, seemingly unfazed by their leader's outburst.

"Typically, a deity like her tends to leave an impression on all people involved, whether they like it or not," Dohnaseek shrugged before he looked at the sleep-deprived Fallen Angel. "Raynare, this is hopeless. All we can do right now is to call this mission a failure, go back home and genuflect in front of Azazel-sama for the failure we had committed. Seriously, with everything that had happened, I don't think it is wise to continue."

Raynare glared at Dohnaseek and Kalawarner. "Y-you... you cowards..." she gritted her teeth in fury. Both Dohnaseek and Kalawarner stiffened, knowing that despite her current state, Raynare's strength was still left undiminished. She could still defeat them both singlehandedly, literally speaking.

Then they heard the sound of laughter before someone entered the church. All three Fallen Angels in the church looked at this newcomer, who was laughing as he walked into the abandoned cathedral.

"Now, now, now..." spoke the newcomer - a young man with silver hair - in a voice that could be considered by all three Fallen Angels in the vicinity as 'absolutely unbearable'. "What is this~? Something interesting happened while I was away~?" In sing-song tone, he spoke gleefully before his red eyes were focused on Raynare. "What's the matter, Raynare~? You need a hand or something~?" Then he broke into manic laughter. "Pfft, I made a joke! Jesus fucking Christ! I made a fucking hand joke!" He looked at the Fallen Angels again after he was done laughing. "Was it funny?! Tell me it's funny! It's not funny?! Too bad! I wanna rape someone right now!"

Dohnaseek just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose upon seeing the appearance of this young man while Kalawarner made a disgusted face over the vulgarity this young man displayed.

Raynare glared at the young man

"Freed Sellzen..." Raynare spat the name of the young man in repugnance. Needlessly cruel and sadistic as she was, she wouldn't compare herself with this young man in term of debauchery, as he was completely and utterly insane. Excommunicated by the Church due to his twisted personality and tendency to commit violence, he was formerly an exorcist serving under the Church, but with him being excommunicated, he was hunted by the Vatican as a wanted criminal. "What do you want?" She growled.

Still having the mad grin on his face, the young man, Freed, spoke, "Well, I heard you got yourselves in a pretty sticky situation, and I thought I wanna lend you a hand for a bit," then he cackled. "Geddit?! Lend you a hand?! C'mon now! At least laugh at my joke!"

Still glaring at the excommunicated exorcist, Raynare spoke, "What do you have on your mind, then?"

The mad exorcist shrugged. "I ain't called a genius while I was serving under the Church for nothing, ya know that?!" He slowly approached Raynare, his footsteps resonated within the cathedral. "I probably have some idea about what to do with that lost arm of yours, Raynare." He grinned as he stood in front of the Fallen Angel, his face drew closer to hers by several inches.

"And the catch?" Raynare knew that there would always be the catch while dealing with someone as insane as Freed.

"Ya catch on quick, ain'tcha?" Freed's grin grew wider. "You know how to pay me, right? Unless you don't want to get back your arm, that is..." Raynare didn't miss the debauched look on the excommunicated exorcist's face as he stuck out his tongue. She could feel his hand snaking up her body from beneath the blanket she was wearing, and she gritted her teeth in subdued anger.

As a Fallen Angel, Raynare wasn't a stranger to carnal desire and venereal acts, but to submit herself to this pathetic excuse of a man, it was beyond humiliating. Even so, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and accept his offer.

"Right, I'll do what you say, Freed..." Raynare said.

"Hallelujah! That is fucking awesome!" Freed exclaimed. "I'm gonna prepare for that, so get ready! It's gonna be a loooong night..." the exorcist's mad grin was still on his face before he laughed and left.

Meanwhile, both Kalawarner and Dohnaseek looked at the exchange between both Freed and Raynare before they looked at each other.

"It seems that we're going to get ourselves involved in another mess that sure will become a pain in the ass again, Kalawarner..." Dohnaseek said before he sighed.

"It sure is, Dohnaseek." Kalawarner nodded, sighing as well. "It sure is."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, it's me again, Prince Arjuna! Thanks for the reviews you have given to me for the last chapter, I am very touched, you know?! Right now, as the title suggests, this chapter introduces Asia Argento, and Aigis somehow manages to forge a Social Link with her, and the Arcana is The Popess. For your information, The Popess is the alternate form of The Priestess just like The Jester being the alternate form of The Fool, or The Traitor being the alternate form of The Hanged Man. The more you know. *rainbows* At first, I've been thinking that after Raynare's arm is cut by Athena, Asia will heal her arm to regrow it, but then, I realized that Asia's Sacred Gear is incapable of regenerating severed limbs. So, I decided to do something else, and please look forward to it, okay?

The beta-reader of this chapter this time is **Sraosha!** It's nice to work alongside you!

So, I hope you'll like this chapter. Please look forward for the next one, okay? See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 08: Twilight Healing.**

**What I have planned:** Some minor Fallen Angel characters will become prominent soon in future chapters, not just Azazel. Fallen Angels such as Shemhazai, Baraqiel, Sahariel and Penemue will play major roles soon.

**Edit:** Some minor alteration.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	8. Twilight Healing

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear lady. How may we serve you today?"

As soon as Aigis stepped into the Velvet Room, she was greeted by its residents. As usual, Igor smiled impishly as he hid his grin behind his clasped, gloved hands. His two assistants were seen standing by his sides, their golden eyes focused on the guest of the room. Margaret, upon seeing the mechanical maiden entering the room, smiled and tilted her head in acknowledgement. Her younger brother, Theodore, bowed courteously as he smiled politely at the guest.

Wordlessly, Aigis held out a hand, and a card appeared on her hand, hovering two inches away from her palm. Tilting his head, Igor's grin widened.

"Ah, another bond. How fascinating..." he held out one of his gloved hands and made a gesture. The card immediately flew towards him before it diverted its path to go to one of his assistants. The card went to Margaret as she held out her hand. The empty, glowing card hovered a few inches away from her palm as she closed her golden eyes.

The velvet-clad beauty then reopened her eyes as she studied the card in her hand, her golden eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Oh my, another inquisitive soul this one is..." she began. "Such a gentle soul. Its core wafting with pleasant flagrance, and it radiates a calm warmth." Then, her eyes became downcast. "However, I can sense a faint trace of sadness and loneliness in this soul. How can such a gentle soul be alone, braving this cruel, merciless world without a company by its side? Is it because of its gentleness itself that prevents the others to reach out to its warmth?" The woman let out a soft sigh. "I see now. There is no such thing in the world such as unconditional kindness. Providing kindness unconditionally can be as destructive and harmful as unkindness itself."

Aigis listened to what Margaret said before she spoke. "No..." her word was clear and crisp, yet her voice was soft and subdued. "She is not wrong in showing unconditional kindness to everyone. She may have experienced enough grief due to the kindness that she shows to everyone unconditionally, but still..." she looked down, her hand on her chest. "She's not wrong. There's nothing wrong in showing kindness." The last part of her words sounded more like a murmur.

One eyebrow raised, Margaret eyed the guest of the Velvet Room before her rouged lips curled up into a smile. "Ah... is that so?" She held the card between her thumb and her forefinger. "Though I never said it is right or wrong to be kind unconditionally. Even so, it is still far too early to decide which one is the right answer - whether it is right or wrong to have such an unconditional kindness. It is up to you to explore what is beyond the surface of this gentle soul."

Margaret looked at her master, and nodded before the card flew to the small table in front of him.

"Now, let's see what shape this bond you have forged will take," Igor spoke, and the card on the table glowed majestically before some kind of symbol appeared on the table below the card. Then, the card broke and dispersed into particles of azure light. Both Margaret and Theodore opened their compendiums before a figure started manifesting itself on one unoccupied seat, not too far from where Aigis was seated on.

When the figure was fully materialized, Aigis could see a beautiful woman with eerily pale skin and ember eyes that shone like the fire of hearth, sitting on the previously unoccupied seat with both her hands on her lap. Clad in a rather revealing outfit which consisted of a black, cropped top and a black bikini bottom which exposed her midriff and rather well-proportioned and shapely thighs. She was also wearing an oversized hat, which was connected to the black drape that looked like a cloak. The footgear she was wearing also seemed to expose her toes, revealing her painted toenails, which were black in color.

Upon the woman's appearance, Theodore spoke. "From The Popess, it seems that the one who emerges from the sea of your soul is the great teacher of the great hero Cu Chulainn. The Shadow Ruler of Dún Scáith herself, Scathach of the Land of Shadows." He glanced at the woman he was currently introducing to Aigis, before he continued. "Well-versed in the arts of arm-to-arm combat and sorcery, she is a force to be reckoned in battle. It is also said that she is the original possessor of the cursed spear of Cu Chulainn, Gae Bolg."

Aigis looked at Scathach, who then nodded at the mechanical maiden and smiled kindly at her. Aigis could see her glowing eyes, flaring with hearth-like glow, making a deep contrast with the velvet light within the room.

"It is nice to meet you," Aigis spoke to Scathach. The great teacher nodded before she dissipated, turning into motes of blue light. Aigis could feel that she had joined the rest of her Personas within the sea of her soul.

Then, the air around them shimmered, and Igor raised one eyebrow, fascinated by this unexpected turn of event.

"Ah, it seems that some of the Personas that you have summoned during your time in your last ordeal have decided to manifest themselves yet again." Two small, female-shaped humanoid creatures appeared in a shower of blue light before they went to fly around Aigis' head. "Pixie and Sylph. These two mischievous little darlings have decided to lend you their strength once again in your journey. Consider yourself lucky, my lady..." Igor said with a smirk.

Aigis observed the mischievous creatures, as they flew around her head. One of them landed on her head, and the other on her left shoulder. The one that was rested on her head was Pixie, a small, red-haired winged humanoid creature, attired in dark blue leotard that exposed her thighs. She giggled as she played with Aigis' hair. She also seemed to wear thigh-high boots and opera gloves which had the same color as her leotard.

The other one who was seated on Aigis' shoulder seemed to resemble Pixie, with a few differences such as her hair color and the color of her attire. Like Pixie, Sylph, was also attired in a rather revealing leotard, as well as a pair of thigh-high boots and opera gloves, but unlike Pixie, they were trimmed with golden and were green in color. She adjusted her blond, curly hair as she was seated on Aigis' shoulder in relaxed manner.

"I'm looking forward to work alongside you two once again, Pixie, Sylph," Aigis spoke to both fairies. Pixie responded by flying up from Aigis' head and floated right in front of the android's face before landing a quick kiss on her nose. She giggled excitedly before dissolving into motes of light. As for Sylph, she stood up and then hovered slightly from Aigis' shoulder before lightly kissing Aigis' cheek. Aigis noticed that Sylph seemed to have her cheeks reddened, as if in embarrassment, before she disappeared as well into particles of light.

"Now then, I look forward to see what else that power of yours may show us in the near future," Igor said right after Pixie and Sylph disappeared. "It is our pleasure to guide you throughout your journey, my esteemed lady. Until then, farewell."

Aigis opened her eyes only to find herself in her room. Through the entrance of the Velvet Room that somehow appeared in her apartment, she went inside to see what shape the bond that she forged with Asia Argento would take. She was still in her black suit, and she had yet to remove her shoes.

Sighing, the android bent down to remove her footgear and put the shoes aside. Then, she took off her red necktie and black suit, revealing her armored bodice underneath. Despite being humanoid in appearance, there was nothing human about her. While she took the shape of a beautiful maiden, it still didn't change the fact that her body was made of metal bits and wires. Once, the fact made her feel rather self-conscious, because there was no way she could compare herself with other female humans such as Mitsuru or Yukari. But then, she decided that there was no use brooding over it. All she had to do was to get over it and make the best out of it.

After running a diagnostic check upon herself and making sure that her system was running smoothly, she went to her capsule seat in order to put herself in 'sleep-mode'. After linking herself with a dozen wires that were attached to the seat, she disabled some of her functions before she closed her eyes. She had set the alarm clock that would allow her to wake up early by tomorrow morning.

As she slept, she dreamed of one particular blue-haired boy, whose gentle smile still didn't fail to make her butterfly-shaped heart to flutter. As she slept, something leaked out of one of her closed eyes, rolling down her cheek.

_'I miss you, Minato-san. I really miss you.'_

In her dream, the beautiful machine continued to weep as she watched a boy who was completely out of her reach. She wanted to keep that warm smile of his for herself. She wanted to hold the boy in loving embrace. She wanted to remain by his side, the end of the world be damned. And yet, she also knew that doing so would be dishonoring his sacrifice. And she also had to come to love and cherish the world that he had protected, and if she decided to be selfish, she would not only betray him, but also betraying herself.

She had already realized it. She had already accepted it. She had accepted the fact that his sacrifice was necessary for the sake of mankind. She had already accepted the truth of his sacrifice. She decided to get over it, and yet, the truth never failed to hurt her.

_'My greatest wish...is to be with you, always.'_

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 08: Twilight Healing**

The next day, after the end of the school session, both Issei and Aigis decided to walk home together. The boy seemed enthusiastic about his new job and status as a Devil. Being a Devil, he had learned about contracting with other people, and despite a few complications, the perverted boy seemed quite happy about this. He also told the android about the other members of the Occult Research Club and how fun it was to be with them. From what Aigis could hear from him, the members of the club seemed to be treating Issei well.

"But I don't like that Kiba guy." Issei said, huffing slightly as he mentioned the blond boy. Aigis frowned at this.

"Why do you not like Kiba-san?" Aigis asked. "Did he do something wrong to you?" By interacting with that sword-wielding reincarnated Devil, she could tell that Yuuto Kiba was quite a pleasant person to be around.

"No, it's not like that..." Issei said, scratching the back of his head. "It's just...he's a bishounen."

"Bishounen?" Aigis blinked a few times.

"Yeah! Chicks flock around him because of his good looks!" Issei exclaimed. "And he also knows how to treat ladies well! It's so easy for him to get a lot of girls for his harem! It's really unfair! A guy like him is a natural enemy for a pervert like me!"

Aigis frowned. "I see." she mused. "You dislike him due to those positive qualities of his. You dislike him because unlike you, he can easily reach out for a dream to get a harem. Is that correct?"

Issei looked aside, seemingly a little embarrassed. "W-well, if you put it that way, it makes me sound like I'm the one who's really bad, Ai-chan."

"No, I did not say that." Aigis said. "But does it not sound unfair for him to be hated by you just because of his positive qualities?" she asked.

"Umm...w-well..." Issei seemed nervous.

Noticing the agitated look on Issei's face, Aigis smiled and patted his shoulder. "Try to get along with him, okay? After all, he is also one of the Devils serving under Rias Gremory, is he not?" She looked at Issei as she spoke. "He is a nice person to talk to. And I'm sure he may have some tips on how to achieve your dream, Issei-san."

"R-really?" Issei said. "W-well..." he scratched the back of his head before he spoke, "If you say so, Ai-chan, I guess I'll try, then. I suppose it's petty of me to hate him."

Aigis nodded and smiled. And so, they continued walking down the street.

"So... Ai-chan, do you have someone you like?" Issei asked. "Just curious, is all..." he added.

"Hmm?" Aigis blinked upon hearing this sudden question. "Well... I had."

"Had?" Issei raised one of his eyebrows, noticing the tense that Aigis used.

Aigis nodded. "He passed away."

"Oh," Issei awkwardly looked aside and scratched his head. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to bring this up."

"It is alright, Issei-san." Aigis shook her head. "Even after he's gone, all the memories of him remain in my heart..." she smiled as he brought up her gloved hand on her chest. "All the good memories, all the bad memories, sad, happy... I have decided to cherish them all." She lowered her hand and looked at Issei, still smiling. "That is why I don't really mind anymore, Issei-san."

"Uh, w-well... if you say so, Ai-chan." Issei said. "So, what was he like?"

"He was quiet and calm most of the time. But he was also very kind, and also very brave." Aigis recalled the time when she was with him, the boy she loved the most. "He was very gentle, and he also accepted me for who I am. He accepted me despite the fact that I am different compared to the other girls." She looked up, gazing to the sky. "I am glad that I fell in love with him."

Issei who was listening to Aigis intently nodded several times. "He sounds like a pretty cool guy."

Aigis nodded. "Yes, he sure is. I'm sure you two would have gotten along well, Issei-san."

"W-well, if you say so, maybe you're right." Issei said, grinning.

Tactfully, Aigis avoided bringing up the fact that not only Minato was a bishounen - Issei's natural enemy - but also the fact that he had, in one way or another, caused plenty of women to fall in love with him. It somehow almost caused a catastrophic disaster among all the girls involved, but in the end of the day, the conflict was resolved without having anyone hurt. Aigis still remembered the dark look on Mitsuru's face while fiddling with the hilt of her rapier, however. Not to mention Yukari, muttering something while holding her bow and arrows, and Fuuka, cooking something suspicious in the kitchen of the dormitory. The peculiar scent wafting from the kitchen almost caused Akihiko to trigger the alarm, thinking that there might be a gas leak

Well, they were still friends, and after a few days, everything returned back to normal. Good end for everyone.

Alright, enough with the flashback. Let's focus on our favorite cute android and perverted reincarnated Devil. They continued to walk down the street before Aigis saw someone familiar out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah," Aigis said. That someone was a young girl with long, blond hair, wearing a long-skirted dark teal dress and a pair of brown old boots. The girl, Asia Argento, was the girl she met a day before, when she found her sitting alone on a bench, praying while hungry. "It's Asia-san."

"Asia?" Issei blinked.

Asia noticed Aigis and her expression brightened. "Ai-san!" Happily, she jogged towards the android girl, but she stumbled on her feet and fell down to the pavement. "Muu!" Sprawled on the paved ground, the young European girl whined as she tried to pick herself up. Due to her falling on her face, her nose was bleeding. "Oww... it hurts..."

"Asia-san, are you alright?" Aigis went to Asia's side, helping her to get up. "Your nose is bleeding."

"Whoa, you okay?!" Issei was also worried about this girl. "It's gotta hurt..." Well, if one's face hit the ground, of course it would hurt. "Wait, I think I've got a hanky somewhere here..." he rummaged into his pocket, and pulled out a small white cloth. "Here you go."

Asia smiled, despite the pain, before she took the hankerchief. "Thank you very much, mister..." Asia said as she wiped her bloodied nose.

"Ai-chan," Issei looked at Aigis. "Can't you... w-well, you know?"

"Hmm?" Aigis blinked, looking at him. "What is it, Issei-san?"

"Can't you use your power or something to heal her nose?" Issei asked, before he realized something. "Oh, that's supposed to be a secret, right?"

Asia blinked when she looked at them both, confused.

"W-well..." Issei looked at the blond girl. "Umm… Ai-chan here knows how to heal someone." he told the girl. "S-so... if you want to get your nose fixed, maybe you can ask for her help."

Issei looked at Aigis, seemingly apologetic for blurting out her 'secret'.

"You can heal someone, Ai-san?" Asia's green eyes focused on the mechanical maiden before her. "Do you have a Sacred Gear too?"

"Sacred Gear?" Aigis raised one eyebrow. From the look on Issei's face, he was just as surprised.

"W-wait, you mean you also have a Sacred Gear?" Issei asked the girl.

Asia nodded before she raised both her hands. A pair of silver rings appeared on her ring fingers before she placed one of her hands on her face. A while later, she lifted her hand, showing her uninjured face. There seemed to be no trace of her face hitting the floor, much to Issei's amazement. It seemed Asia had a Sacred Gear that could heal injuries.

"I see." Aigis mused. "Fascinating..." She could feel the aura radiated from the Sacred Gear. Judging from the look of it, the healing process was the same as Diarama. "Even so, it is not good for all of us to stand on other people's ways. I suppose we can go somewhere where we can talk without disturbing other people." She glanced at Issei. "Do you have somewhere you can suggest for three of us to sit down comfortably, Issei-san?"

"Ah, I know a place! You can count on me, Ai-chan!" Issei said, hitting his chest with his right hand. "It's over there. Let's go!"

And so, Issei led both Aigis and Asia to a nearby ice-cream shop.

* * *

"Whoa…" Both Aigis and Issei could see Asia's green eyes glittering with anticipation, when the waitress placed a huge cup of parfait in front of her. With an assortment of various fruits such as cherries and bananas on the multicolored ice-cream, it was truly something that one would wish to have on their sunny weekends. "I-it's... so huge..." Asia muttered, studying the special deluxe parfait in front of her. She looked at both Aigis and Issei worriedly. "I-is it fine if I eat it?" She asked.

Issei grinned at the girl. "Of course it's fine! Nothing can beat this special deluxe parfait! And don't worry, it's my treat!" He gave the girl a thumb-up. "C'mon now, dig in!"

"A-alright..." Asia nodded before she used the spoon provided to dig into the parfait. Then she brought it into her mouth. After having the first taste of it, her eyes widened in amazement. "I-it's delicious!" She looked at both Issei and Aigis. "It's truly delicious!" She exclaimed happily.

Issei nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. "Yep, yep. Of course you're gonna say that..." he said. "Say, your name is Asia Argento, right?" Issei asked the girl, who continued eating the parfait.

Asia nodded. "Yes."

"Then, you don't mind if I call you Asia-chan, right?" Issei asked.

"W-well..." Asia seemed troubled, before she looked at Aigis, who nodded and smiled gently at her. "I-I don't mind..." she answered.

"Awesome!" Issei said happily. "Oh, and by the way, name's Issei Hyoudou. Just call me Issei. My friends call me that. Nice to meet you, Asia-chan."

"Nice to meet you too, Issei-san." Asia replied, bowing slightly. "A-and... thanks for the parfait. W-what should I do to repay for your kindness, Issei-san?" She asked.

Issei tilted his head. "Nah, no worries. Like I said before, it's my treat." Both girls could see a lecherous grin on the pervert's face. "Unless if you insist on repaying me, then you can just allow me to grope your brea-" he immediately stopped himself when he saw Aigis' curious and innocent look. That pair of blue, innocent eyes was looking straight at him, as if boring straight into his very own soul. Issei might be a lecherous pervert who would let the world know about his dream of becoming a Harem King. However, he also knew that there was no way he could let the innocence projected by those blue eyes be crushed by his own perversity. Thinking the consequence of what might happen if he ended up disappointing the android girl, Issei coughed into his fist and spoke to Asia. "Umm… nah, it's nothing."

Both Aigis and Asia blinked several times.

"Thank you very much, Issei-san." Asia said to Issei.

"Like I said, no worries. After all, you're Ai-chan's friend. A friend of my friend is a friend of mine, y'know?" Issei grinned.

Aigis smiled when she heard that. It was a wonder what a friendship could do to people. Perhaps it was like what Minato had experienced before.

"Friend..." Asia spoke softly. Then, she looked aside. Sadness seemed apparent in her eyes, despite the smile on her face. "I...I don't have a friend."

Both Aigis and Issei looked at the girl.

"What?" Issei spoke. "What are you saying, Asia-chan?"

Aigis silently looked at Asia. Faintly, she could feel a soft tug deep within the sea of her soul. It seemed that The Popess had reacted to what Asia had told them. From what the mechanical maiden could hear from her, she somehow managed to understand the girl named Asia Argento much better.

"If that is the case…" Aigis said. "Why don't we become your friends, Asia-san?"

"Huh?" Asia blinked her eyes in confusion.

"Yeah! If you didn't have friends before, we're going to be your friends!" Issei exclaimed. "And after that, I'm going to introduce you some of my other friends. They're weird, but they're fun too. I'm sure you'll like it if you meet them, Asia-chan."

"Issei-san..." Asia looked Issei for a few moments before she smiled. "I'm glad. I-I'm...I'm really glad. Thank you, Ai-san, Issei-san. Thank you for being my friends."

In the end, they ended up talking about a lot of things. Asia told them that she was a nun assigned by the Church. Aigis could see Issei flinching a bit when the blond nun mentioned this. From Rias Gremory's explanation some days ago, Devils should never get close to a church or a shrine. Churches were under the domain of Angels and God, so it was natural that Devils should never set their foot into these places. Even so, Issei continued smiling, shrugging it off. She also told them about the Sacred Gear that she owned, Twilight Healing, which allowed her to heal all sorts of wounds.

Before they realized it, the sun was almost set. Both Issei and Aigis bid their farewell to Asia, but not before making a plan for the next day.

"So, tomorrow we're gonna have fun." Issei said to Asia. "We're gonna bring you around the town, Asia-chan. It's gonna be fun, I tell you." He grinned. "And Ai-chan will be joining us too."

Aigis nodded. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Asia smiled happily. "Yes! I'll see you two tomorrow!"

And so, the nun left.

"See you tomorrow too, Ai-chan. I guess I'm gonna go home now." Issei said to Aigis.

"I will see you tomorrow, Issei-san. Please have a safe journey." And so, both of them parted ways.

* * *

The next day, after school, Aigis went straight home to change her clothes. Folding her uniform neatly, she put on her black suit and red necktie as well as her black leather shoes. She had no other clothes to put on other than the suits and the school uniforms, so she decided to make use of it for the time being. After making sure that she looked presentable enough, she left the apartment and got on the bus to town.

When she arrived, she saw both Issei and Asia, who were already waiting for her. Both of them were talking with each other, and from the look of it, Issei seemed to be a little embarrassed when Asia's attention was on him. It was clear that despite his perverted tendency, he was not used to female attention.

"Please excuse me for my lateness," Aigis approached the pair, bowing her head a bit. "It took some time before the bus could arrive."

"Ah, Ai-chan," Issei said. "Umm..." he looked at the suit Aigis was wearing. "Is it just me, or are you wearing a suit or something?" He asked.

"Yes, I am wearing a suit." Aigis nodded. "More precisely, this is called a Chesterfield coat. It is specifically tailor-made for me, and has Kevlar fiber just beneath the fabric - for extra protection. It is also designed to enable me to move freely."

"Oh..." Asia looked at the suit Aigis was wearing. "So, why are you wearing a suit, Ai-san?"

"It's..." the mechanical maiden averted her eyes. "M-my preference, I suppose."

Both Issei and Asia just blinked as they stared at the mechanical maiden.

"Putting that aside, let's get started," Issei said. "We're going to have fun today. So, Asia-chan, what do you want to do first?" He asked the blond nun beside him.

"Oh, umm..." Asia brought her hand to her chin, seemingly thinking hard about it.

"We're gonna make today the best day of your life, Asia-chan." Issei told the nun. "So, tell us where you'd like to go."

"I...I want to go to the zoo..." Asia said, shyly.

Both Issei and Aigis nodded to each other, smiling.

"Very well." Aigis said. "Let us go to the zoo now. Right, Issei-san?"

"Yes! Let's go!" Issei grinned as he pumped his fist.

And so, both Issei and Aigis brought Asia to the recently opened zoo. Upon entering, Asia's eyes were glittering with fascination. There were a wide variety of animals to behold, from all over the world.

"Whoa…" Asia went over a large cage, where there were a couple of lions. "I-it's wonderful! It's my first time seeing lions in front of my eyes!" She looked to her side to see Issei, who was standing beside her. "I only saw lions in books before!"

"They're awesome, aren't they?!" Issei spoke excitedly. "Man, if only I could be a shounen hero! Then I could jump into the cage to fight these lions barehanded. That gotta be awesome!" He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, seemingly thrilled over the thought.

"T-that sounds dangerous, Issei-san!" Asia exclaimed worriedly. Then, she saw another animal not too far from the lion's cage. "Look! I think I see an ostrich!"

"Where?! Man, I wanna see 'em burying their heads into the ground!" Issei rushed over to where Asia was pointing at.

"W-wait for me, Issei-san! Not too fast!" Asia whined, following after the excited boy.

Aigis, who was just leisurely following the two of them, smiled. She was glad that both of them, especially Asia, were having fun. For Issei, it was in order to cheer him up after a series of unlucky occasions - such as being killed by his girlfriend, being resurrected as a Devil and getting himself attacked by a group of Fallen Angels. For Asia, it was to give her a semblance of happiness, by giving her a chance to have fun with her friends.

She placed her gloved hand on her chest and closed her eyes. The Popess was stirring deep inside her, and from her understanding in the girl named Asia Argento, she could tell that despite the happiness the girl projected and the kindness she displayed to others, deep inside, the girl was crying. She was a kind girl, living in an unkind world. She recalled the words that Margaret said back in the Velvet Room as she assessed the bond that Aigis had forged with the girl.

_'There is no such thing in the world such as unconditional kindness. Providing kindness unconditionally can be as destructive and harmful as unkindness itself.'_

Aigis wanted to deny it. How could unconditional kindness be as destructive as unkindness itself? Shouldn't kindness be rewarded with kindness too?

Or perhaps Margaret was right all along. Sometimes, people took comfort in unkindness and would rather scoff at any display of goodwill or compassion. Worse, they might even detest it. For a while, the mechanical maiden started to think that there might be a mistake somewhere. Why would this ugliness exist within the hearts of men? To think that _he_ sacrificed himself to protect this festering tumor that could only lead to self-destruction. There had to be some kind of mistake.

Aigis shook her head, as if in denial. She didn't want to think that _his_ decision to protect humanity was wrong, just because there were a few bad apples among mankind. Just thinking about it made her resolve waver. She silently chastised herself over her weakness.

"Ai-san!" Asia suddenly came to Aigis, panicking. She was in tears as she looked at the mechanical maiden. "Issei-san somehow got himself kidnapped by the monkeys! We have to help him!"

"Monkeys?" Aigis blinked, before she followed Asia to the commotion. Inside a cage where the monkeys were displayed, Issei was seen being surrounded by a group of monkeys. "Oh my."

"W-wait! No! Someone save me!" Issei cried from inside the cage. "H-hey, don't look at me like that, you damn monkey! W-wait, what's up with those hearts in your eyes?! Dammit, no! Ai-chan, Asia-chan, help me!" The pervert screamed for help as some of the monkeys started to tug on his pants, as if trying to remove them forcefully.

A moment later, Issei was safely rescued. Thanks to this particular incident, however, he would always be afraid of monkeys.

* * *

"Aaand... done!" Freed announced. There was a lecherous grin on the excommunicated exorcist's face, as he looked at the promiscuous, naked body of Raynare. "Phew, it's been a while since the last time I did that! How do ya feel, Raynare~?"

Ignoring the lustful stare of the stray exorcist, Raynare looked at her right arm that was completely wrapped in red bandage. She was unable to feel this new arm, and yet she was able to move it just like normal. A few rosaries were hanging on this new limb. Usually, those holy symbols were harmful for a Fallen Angel like her, but due to Freed's alteration, the rosaries did nothing to her - besides a negligible pricking sensation.

"How long before I can adapt to this new arm?" Raynare asked.

"Well~" Freed tilted his head, poking his cheek with his finger. "Just give it a couple hours, then you'll feel peachy in no time~" he said cheerfully. "Besides, this new arm of yours is gonna give you a boost. Normal humans ain't gonna be able to use it if I attach it on 'em. There was one time when I tried it on a human woman, and she died a few hours after I put it on her. So, I raped her corpse! I raped her fucking corpse!" The excommunicated exorcist laughed. "That was fucking awesome! It's a pity though I didn't get to hear her while I was fucking her. Of course, corpses don't make sounds when you do that to 'em, right? Right?!"

Raynare ignored Freed's distasteful recount on his experience as she moved the fingers of her new arm. She hated to admit it, but Freed was a genius if he was able to craft something like this. The principles of the formation of this fake arm were similar to the creation of her light spears - and he managed it despite being a human. A physically and mentally advanced human, but a human nonetheless. Even so, it still didn't make him earn her respect, because genius or not, he was still a sadistic asshole.

"So, you finally get back your arm, and I got to fuck a Fallen Angel," Freed said, still eyeing Raynare's naked flesh. "And everyone wins! Good end for everyone!"

"Not enough..." Raynare spoke. "It's not enough..."

"Hmm? 'Sup, Raynare? You ain't satisfied with your new arm?" Freed asked.

"Still not enough..." the Fallen Angel growled as she recalled the time when her arm was cut by that woman. "That bitch... she's going to pay for what she had done to me. I'm going to rip her throat and pluck out her eyeballs. Then I'm going to cut her tongue and force her to eat it." Her newly-made arm made a sizzling sound. "After that, I'm going to violate her repeatedly and make her beg for me to stop. I'll make her act like the bitch she really is, before I crush her skull and eat her heart. Then, I'll hang her naked corpse for all to see." The hand of her newly-made arm was balled into a fist. "Not only that, I'm going to hunt down all people who are associated with her, and do the same to them, including Issei and that damned robot girl. Only after that I can finally be satisfied..."

Freed's grin widened to the edge of what would be humanly possible for someone like him. "Oho~? Now you're talkin' in my language, Raynare. I feel like joining you too. After all, I'm up for raping some bitches. But before that, what are you gonna do?" He asked.

"To do that..." Raynare's lips curled up into a malignant grin. "I'm going to get her Sacred Gear first." Her violet eyes flashed. "I'm going to extract Twilight Healing from that girl. That way, I will be unstoppable."

* * *

After going around the zoo, Asia, Aigis and Issei went to a shopping mall. They visited an arcade center to play some arcade games. The nun seemed to be enjoying the game of whack-a-mole, while Issei seemed to like a game which involved stripping some girls in the screen to earn some points. The reason why such an indecent game existed was beyond Aigis, as she saw Issei earning the highest mark for the game.

"That was fun!" Asia said excitedly as she went to Aigis' side. "Though I feel bad for hitting all those mister moles. I hope they're alright..."

"They are not real moles, Asia-san." Aigis informed the nun helpfully.

"Thank goodness..." Asia let out a sigh of relief. "By the way, Ai-san," she tilted her head, looking at the suit-clad android girl beside her. "Are you having fun too?"

"Yes." Aigis nodded, smiling. While both Asia and Issei went to play their preferred games, Aigis decided to give a shooting game a try. As a result, she managed to break the old record as she flawlessly shot down all the enemies in the screen without being hit. Being an android who was specifically designed to use firearms effectively, she would excel at this game effortlessly. "It's been a while since I had this much fun."

"I see..." Asia mused before she noticed the absence of one particular boy. "Umm... where is Issei-san?" She asked.

"He went to the bathroom," Aigis informed.

"Oh," Asia nodded. "Umm...Ai-san, w-what do you think about Issei-san?"

"What do I think about Issei-san?" Aigis parroted Asia's question. "Hmm... I suppose he is a very decent young man. He may display a few quirks such as his obsession in female's body parts, but that doesn't stop him from being kind and considerate." She smiled at Asia. "And how about you, Asia-san? What do you think about him?" She asked.

"W-well... at first, I was a little scared with him, but then, umm..." the nun's cheeks flushed slightly. "Let's just say I got used to his... antics after a while. And he's also very kind and very helpful. It is nice talking with Issei-san. And I'm glad that he wants to be my friend." She smiled at Aigis. "And for you too, Ai-san. I'm very glad that both of you are willing to be my friends. I..." she brought up her hands to her chest. "I'm very happy!"

Aigis could see that as Asia smiled, those green eyes of hers were filled with tears. Happy tears, but tears still. Aigis just smiled gently at Asia as she watched her happy tears roll down her flushed cheeks.

"Oh!" When Asia realized that she was crying, she frantically brought up her hands to wipe the tears. "I-I... I'm going to bathroom! P-please wait for me, Ai-san!" And so, she left to go to the bathroom. A while later, Issei returned.

"Phew, thanks for the wait, Ai-chan," Issei said to Aigis before he noticed the lack of a certain blond nun. "Huh? Where's Asia-chan?"

"She went to the bathroom," Aigis informed. "You just missed her a few seconds ago, Issei-san."

"Ah," Issei nodded. "Uh, Ai-chan, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"Yes? What is it, Issei-san?" Aigis' blue eyes focused on the perverted boy.

"Umm..." Scratching the back of his head, Issei spoke, "W-what do you think about Asia-chan?"

"What do I think about Asia-san?" Aigis blinked. It seemed that both Asia and Issei asked the same kind of questions to her. "I suppose she is a very nice girl. Maybe a little shy, but when she is with people she knows, she can be pretty energetic. Why do you ask, Issei-san?"

"W-well... you see, it's just that, umm..." Issei seemed to be struggling to come up with better words to say to her. "I'm going to be honest to you, okay? Ever since that day, after Yuuma-chan killed me, I... I somehow feel afraid," he admitted. "I should have already moved on, and yet..." he pressed his right hand on his chest, right on his heart. There was a pained expression on his face as he did that. "Her words... Yuuma-chan's words… kinda hurt more than that spear of hers. When she said that I'm a boring guy, I... I'm worried that Asia-chan will think the same too."

Aigis looked into the boy's eyes, and she could see anguish and fear in them. The poor boy's heart was still broken, and was afraid to have it broken even more.

"Don't worry..." Aigis placed her hand on Issei's shoulder. "Asia-san will never think of such thing about you."

"R-really?" Issei blinked.

"Yes, I am positive. Asia-san is a very nice girl, I am very sure of that." Aigis nodded.

"Ai-chan…" Aigis could feel Issei's shoulder shaking a bit. Then, the boy grinned. "You sure know how to make me feel better, do you?" He clenched his fists. "Alright! This time, there's no way I can screw things up! I'm gonna make Asia-chan the happiest girl in the world! Mark my words, Ai-chan! I'm betting my reputation as the future Harem King for this, you hear me?!"

Aigis blinked several times. Well, at least he returned back to his cheerful self. "I hear you loud and clear, Issei-san." She smiled.

After a while, Asia returned.

"S-sorry it took me a while!" She said, bowing apologetically. Then, she smiled radiantly. "So, what are we going to do next?" She asked.

Issei crossed his arms, seemingly pondering over it before he went to move his hands, hitting his palm with his fist. "I think I got an idea!" He grinned at Asia. "Let's get you something to remember about today!"

"Something to remember?" Aigis looked at Issei. "Do you mean some kind of memento?"

"Yeah!" Issei nodded. "We'll buy something that reminds us of today! With that, we can remember all the fun we had!" He looked at Asia. "What do you think, Asia-chan?" He asked the nun about her opinion.

"W-well...I think that's a good idea, Issei-san!" Asia replied, beaming happily. "I'll make sure to cherish the memories of today forever! I..." she brought one hand to her chest as she closed her eyes. "I will make sure to remember all these precious moments, all the fun moments with you two, Ai-san, Issei-san."

Aigis nodded. "I will make sure to remember all these precious moments that we had together too," she said. "Today, we had fun."

"Of course! Now, let's get something to buy! Onward!"

"Roger!"

Asia went to hook her arm around Issei's, much to the latter's surprise. But then, he smiled before he laughed. Asia also grabbed Aigis' arm and did the same. Blinking, she looked at the blond girl for a while before she smiled and let herself be pulled alongside Issei by Asia.

With their hands linked together, with Asia being in the middle, three of them walked together, smiling brightly as they did so. As for Aigis, deep within the sea of her soul, both The Magician and The Popess stirred, providing her with warmth like no other.

* * *

In the end, each of them decided to buy a penguin-shaped keychain. Issei got himself a red one, fitting for a boisterous boy like him. Asia got a green one - and both Issei and Aigis cited that it matched the color of her eyes. As for Aigis, she got a blue one. Both Issei and Asia mentioned that the keychain matched with the color of the sky, which was also the color of her eyes.

"I'm going to take care of this..." Asia said, holding the keychain against her chest. "Thank you, Issei-san, Aigis-san. Thank you for being my friends."

"Nah, don't mention it," Issei grinned. "As long as you're happy, I'm fine with it..." then, he muttered. "If only the date with Yuuma-chan could end up like this, then-"

"Do you say something, Issei-san?" Asia asked.

"N-no, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Issei said before he laughed.

Three of them walked down the street, and there were people around them. It was already evening.

"It was fun today," Asia said. "Maybe we can have something like this again next time."

"You bet'cha!" Issei said, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Yes, next time, then." Aigis nodded.

"Until then, good bye!" And so, the nun left, humming a happy tune as she did so.

"Look how happy she is..." Issei said, smiling. "So, see you tomorrow, Ai-san." He looked at the android beside him, grinning. "Let's work hard together, neighbor."

"Indeed," Aigis nodded. "I shall see you tomorrow, Issei-san."

After exchanging farewells, both mechanical maiden and the reincarnated Devil parted ways, smiles etched on their visages.

* * *

Asia Argento was so happy. She finally made a few friends for herself! Both Ai and Issei were nice people, and they treated her kindly. It's been a while since the last time she got this kind of treatment.

"I'm going to cherish this forever..." Asia muttered, holding the keychain that they bought, the memento of the precious memories that she made together with both Ai and Issei. As she walked through the crowd of people, she noticed someone who was standing still in the middle of the crowd, and upon recognizing the figure standing within the crowd, her eyes widened. It was a young man, garbed in black, clerical clothing, a wide, malicious grin etched on his face.

"F-Father...Sellzen..." Asia gasped out the name of the young man, who then stepped forward, approaching the nun.

There was someone standing beside the young man, whose bodily shape seemed unmistakably female, had a black cloak covering the entirety of her body. She walked alongside the white-haired young man before she pulled down her hood, revealing the hateful glare of one particular Fallen Angel. Asia brought her hand to her mouth, suppressing the urge to let out a loud gasp upon seeing those glaring violet eyes.

"M-miss Raynare..." Asia spoke the name of the female Fallen Angel. Fear seemed to be evident in those green eyes of hers.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here~?" The priestly-looking young man spoke in a rather high-pitched voice. "Hey there, you little girl," he spoke to Asia. "Come here," his tone shifted into a fatherly one. This didn't seem to be very effective, considering that his wide grin on his face seemed to be anything but fatherly. "Why didn't you show up at the church? Don't feel like living with Fallen Angels, do you?"

Asia flinched when the priestly young man spoke. "I..." She tried to speak, but was unable to say anything.

As for Raynare, she was scanning the surroundings to see one particular person, and then clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Tch... she's not here..." Asia was confused. "You," Raynare spoke to Asia. "Come here. We need your Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing."

"M-my Sacred Gear..." Asia looked at Raynare, feeling conflicted.

"What~? Why do you hesitate, huh~?" The priestly young man spoke to Asia. "The Church doesn't want you anymore, so the only place where you can return to is to be among the Fallen Angels, you see~?" He made an exaggerated shrug.

"I..." Asia clutched the keychain tighter against her chest.

The joy that she had experienced together with both Ai and Issei had instantly vanished upon seeing both this priestly young man and Raynare.

"So, ya don't wanna come, huh?" The priestly young man asked, tilting his head. "That's okay too, but I guess I can cut 'em down to pieces if you don't wanna come," he spread his arms, gesturing to the crowd around them. "These people, I mean. Ya don't wanna anyone get hurt, don'tcha?" The grin on the young man's face widened, and Asia could feel the repulsiveness of such grin.

"NO!" Asia cried out. "P-please don't do that, F-Father Sellzen!" The nun begged to the young man.

"Then, ya know what to do, right?" The priestly young man asked, his cruel grin still remained on his face.

Asia let out a whimper as she lowered her head in shame. Choking back a sob, she stepped forward, walking over to both Raynare and the priestly man.

"P-please don't hurt them," Asia told the young man. "I'll come with you, so please don't hurt them..." she begged.

As Asia became closer to him, he held out his hand, stroking the nun's cheek. She shuddered upon being touched by him.

"What a good girl..." The man said. "Come on, then. We've got lots and lots of stuff to do. Time's a-wastin', y'know?"

Both the young man and Raynare turned around, starting to walk away from the crowd. Wordlessly, Asia followed after them, holding back her tears as the warmth that she experienced together with Ai and Issei started to fade away, replaced by this cruel coldness. She prayed silently to the God above to save her as she walked behind both of them. She didn't care how, as long as she was saved from what cruel fate that awaited her at the end of the line.

But she also knew that her prayer would go unheeded. He didn't hear all her desperate prayers before, so why would He listen now?

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Prince Arjuna strikes again! I am very thankful for all the reviews you have given to me, you know that?! Alright, I'll tell you this. The part about Freed being able to craft a fake arm for Raynare is just me bullshitting myself, I have to admit, but since in the original source materials, that psychotic exorcist has no personality other than being batshit insane, so I think I'm going to give him a few minor tweaking. I'm not saying that I'm going to turn him into a good guy. In fact, I like him better as a bad guy. And since he is considered a genius as an exorcist, him being able to craft a fake arm won't be way off the mark, right? The thing about Raynare's new arm will be elaborated in the next chapter, so please wait and see.

In the meantime, special thanks for **Sraosha,** the beta-reader of this chapter! It's so nice working alongside you!

Hope you guys like this chapter, and don't forget to leave some reviews. After all, the author needs it to keep himself alive and well. And I also made a discussion forum to discuss about this story's plot. The link can be found in my profile. See you guys in the next chapter, **Chapter 09: Doll's Resolve.  
**

**What I have planned:** I ship (insert DxD character) and (insert Persona character). And I regret nothing.

**Edit:** Just for clarification. I am totally aware that Aigis has already gotten over the fact that she is not human, but this is her first time someone calling her a monster. Geez, it's so hard to clarify this to anonymous readers via PM, you know?

**Edit(2):** Fixed the part when Aigis reacted to Freed's words. Hope it's acceptable enough.

**Edit(3):** Fixed the last part completely. I hope you guys like this version more.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	9. Doll's Resolve

Upon entering the abandoned cathedral near the outskirts of the town, Asia couldn't help but notice that the religious symbols, such as crosses, had been crushed down to pieces. She kept her head low as she followed after the white-haired young man clad in black, clerical clothing, Freed Sellzen, and the female Fallen Angel, Raynare, whose body was wrapped entirely in an all-encompassing cloak, yet form-fitting enough to highlight her womanly figure.

"So~" Freed spoke, grinning as he looked at the blond nun. "Where have ya been?" The excommunicated exorcist asked.

"I-I…" Asia averted her gaze. She had been taking shelter in various places these last few days, such as the manga café, small chapels, and a few places that deemed to be safe for someone young and defenseless as her. "I was lost, F-Father," she said. She didn't tell him a lie, as she was a foreigner who was unfamiliar with this country. "P-please, forgive me, Father Sellzen." She lowered her head, trembling slightly.

"Aww, shucks, ain't you just adorable~?" Freed cooed, walking over, getting closer to the nun, his hands in his pockets. His tone might have been soothing if not due to the fact that a deranged grin could be seen on his face. "Yup, adorable alright. Like a kitty."

Suddenly, Freed brought his hand up, grabbing Asia's hair. The nun let out a pained cry as the excommunicated exorcist pulled her hair, drawing her head closer to his. She could feel his breathing as he did so. She wanted to scream for help, but her voice struck silence in her throat. Those intense red eyes of his were looking straight into hers. It felt like staring into hellfire itself.

"And ya know what I usually do to a kitty? I stomp it under my foot!" Freed said, licking his lips, his eyes were still looking straight into Asia's. "Spill its blood on the floor and kick it! But since you ain't no kitty, I guess I'm gonna do something else…"

The debauched look sent chills down her spine as Freed's other hand went to grab her hand before he pushed her towards a wall. With her back touching the cold wall, the cornered nun was unable to do anything as she was put completely under the depraved exorcist's mercy, and Freed was not known for his mercy. The dangerous glint in his red eyes was a thing of nightmare for the terrified nun. Being pressed against the wall, Asia was helpless and unable to do anything as Freed moved to touch her.

"Freed…" A voice spoke, stopping Freed from going any further. "Didn't I tell you to not touch her?" Raynare said, glaring at Freed with her violet eyes. "We still need her intact for the ceremony…"

Freed pouted when he let Asia go. "Aww, you're not fun at all, Raynare~" he complained. "Oh welp, I guess gettin' myself to fuck the shit outta you ain't that bad," the stray exorcist shrugged. "Meh, I guess I'm gonna go outside, then. I'm gonna try to find myself somethin' to kill or shit like that." Then he laughed. "Or maybe rape the shit outta a bitch too along the way! And cut her down and rape her corpse! Man, that sounds like an awesome idea~ Too-da-loo!" And so, the demented excuse of a human being called Freed Sellzen skipped out of the church, singing happily about things like rape or murder as he did so.

Raynare scowled. "That asshole…" she growled. "I swear, one day I'm going to rip his dick and shove it down his throat…" she grumbled before she glanced at Asia, who was on the floor, shivering. Her tears flowed unbidden on her cheeks. It was clear that she was deeply traumatized by what Freed was trying to do to her.

The Fallen Angel gritted her teeth. Her bandaged arm twitched slightly, and she scowled. She barely stopped herself to bring the hand up to reach the girl. She shook her head before she turned back.

"Go to your room," Raynare spoke to Asia. "Prepare yourself. And don't get any funny ideas in your head. Like it or not, your Sacred Gear will be extracted. That's your only role here." If Asia wasn't in a catatonic state, she might be able to detect a faint strain in Raynare's tone. "You have no other role besides that. Your God abandoned you, your people abandoned you, and no one loves you or cares for you. You're nothing. A pathetic, unneeded child. And you only belong to us, and you will make sure to remember that."

Glancing behind to see the nun, Raynare clicked her tongue before she walked away, leaving Asia alone in the middle of the abandoned cathedral.

Slumped on the floor, Asia remained there. The green penguin-shaped keychain that she clutched in her hands slipped away from her hold, falling onto the floor.

The moments that she had experienced together with Ai and Issei before felt like dreams. Sweet, beautiful dreams.

And now, all she had to do was to wake up and open her eyes to face the cold, cruel reality.

She had stopped praying to ask for His help. No matter how hard she prayed, no matter how earnest she begged to her God, all her prayers were left unheeded. Probably Raynare was right all along. Her God had abandoned her. She was unneeded. Wasn't that the reason why the Church and Vatican excommunicated her in the first place? She had committed a sin. She was unaware of it, but it was still a sin.

In helping a Devil, she had committed the sin of helping the enemy of God. She didn't know the one she was helping at that time was a Devil, but still, it didn't change the fact that she had damned herself.

Asia looked up, her face still stained by her fresh tears. Even after being abandoned, she couldn't bring herself to hate Him. For all she knew, He was just doing His duty as the All-Watching God, and He had to be fair, and there would be no exception to those who had broken His rules.

Slowly, she raised both her hands as she gazed up to the ceiling of the cathedral, holding them together. She opened her mouth and with a strained voice, spoke, "My God… my God," she prayed. "Why have you forsaken me? Why have you abandoned me? Please tell me, why have you forsaken me?" She closed her eyes. She did no longer ask to be saved, as there was no salvation to the damned. She just wanted an answer. She wanted her question to be heard, and to be answered, so that even she was no longer under His grace, she would still be able to find comfort in it.

Raynare, who was leaning against the wall behind the closed door, heard Asia's solemn prayers. All she wanted was a message from above to explain everything to her, so that even under damnation, she would still be able to see a silver lining in it.

"Tch!" Clicking her tongue in annoyance, the Fallen Angel walked away, going to her room. She needed to make sure that her new, fake arm was properly functioning. She didn't want any sort of stupid feelings to get in her way. No, never.

As Asia continued her solemn prayers, the penguin-shaped that she dropped onto the floor had mysteriously disappeared. No one seemed to notice the shadow-like thing that snatched it away.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 09: Doll's Resolve**

"I'm sorry for asking you to help me carry these bags, Aigis," Fuuka said, walking alongside the suit-clad blond android while carrying two plastic bags with both hands. Aigis seemed to be carrying four. Both of them were on their way back from their grocery shopping. It had been one day since Aigis returned from her trip around town together with Issei and Asia. "Especially since you can't really eat," she said apologetically to the mechanical maiden.

Aigis smiled at the thoughtful young woman beside her. Even after all these years, her caring, nurturing personality hadn't changed even in the slightest. She was still the same sweet, gentle Fuuka Yamagishi, and it could be said that her calming presence was partly the reason why SEES was able to work together even under pressure, besides the presence of one particular blue-haired boy, of course. And thanks to her ever watchful eyes and her ability as a scanner-type Persona-user, they were able to make it to the top of the twisted tower of Tartarus.

"I do not mind, Fuuka-san," Aigis said, looking at the young woman beside her who was attired in a simple sundress. Despite the simplicity in her appearance, one could say that Fuuka Yamagishi was quite beautiful. She wouldn't compare herself to other females such as Yukari or Mitsuru, but there was a reason why she somehow gained a fan club upon entering the college department of Kuoh Academy a few days ago. When she was asked regarding this matter, she just blushed and said that while she was happy with all the attentions, she would like to focus on her study. "I have some free time, so there is no reason for me to turn down your request."

"Ah, I'm glad." Fuuka smiled. "It's a shame, though, that you can't eat food. If only I can have someone try to sample my cooking." She sighed.

"Well, Mitsuru-san had told us that they had been developing a function for Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons like me to be able to consume foods," Aigis informed. "Once they are done with it, I cannot wait to have a taste of your food, Fuuka-san," she said, smiling.

"Thanks, Aigis," Fuuka said. "You really are nice, aren't you?"

Without both of them noticing it, they were observed by a pair of red eyes, which belonged to a young man with glaringly white hair, who was sitting on top of a lamppost while having a wide grin etched on his face.

He looked at the shorter one, the one with teal-blue hair, noticing that she was the easier target than the blond one who was taller than her. There were no other people around, so he could just jump in and catch them off guard.

If he was lucky, he could even score with both of them. After all, it's been a while since the last time he did that with two women at the same time. It would be, as he would aptly put it, fucking awesome.

"Ah." Fuuka stopped walking, blinking a few times.

Aigis took a few steps forward, making a gap between both of them when Fuuka stopped before she stopped as well. "What's wrong, Fuuka-san?"

"Umm, I don't know how to explain this…" Fuuka said, shaking her head. "It's just that… I feel something all of a sudden." She brushed her hair to the back of her ear as she said that. "It feels like... something is watching us from somewhere." She closed her eyes, trying to focus her concentration on discerning this something that she had picked up. "I... I'm not sure. Maybe we should just go home immedia-"

Before the young woman could finish, a figure jumped down from somewhere above, landing right between both of them. It was a young man, clad in black, priestly clothing, holding something which looked like a glowing sword. Fuuka froze as she was totally caught off guard by the appearance of this young man.

"Eh?" That was the only thing the young woman could say as she saw the young man's red eyes.

"I'm gonna cut your legs first~" The young man said excitedly as he swung his glowing sword at Fuuka, aiming to cut her legs. The sound of the glowing sword cutting through something filled the silence in the air. "Hmm?"

The young man frowned. Instead of cutting Fuuka's legs, he seemed to be cutting the plastic bags that she was holding. Then, he heard a hissing noise, which came from behind him. He looked behind and saw the blond female who was with her, cradling Fuuka with both arms. Apparently, she managed to seize her away before the glowing sword could even cut through her.

"Oho~?" Grinning, the young man turned around. "Now that was interesting…" he said.

"W-wha…?" Fuuka seemed confused by this turn of event as Aigis held her with both arms. "A-Aigis, what happened?" She asked before she saw a small rip on the sleeve of Aigis' suit. "Y-your arm!"

Noticing Fuuka's worry, the mechanical maiden just shook her head. "It's just my suit. I'm not hurt, Fuuka-san." Then, she looked at the young man who was armed with the glowing sword before them. Somehow, he attacked them all of a sudden, without even giving them any warning. "Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" She asked as she looked at the young man, observing him carefully.

As for the young man, he pouted. "Dang, I done goofed!" His voice was high-pitched and a little grating. "Still, I didn't expect ya to avoid that, y'know? Oh well." He shrugged before he focused his eyes on Aigis. "Ah, you're the one Raynare spoke of, ain'tcha? A robot girl or something…"

Aigis' body stiffened. "You know Raynare?"

"Welp, let's just say we're accomplices or stuff like that." The young man shrugged. "So, you're the one who got Raynare's arm cut?" He asked, seemingly curious.

Aigis didn't answer his question.

"Aww… don't be like that, ya robot girl!" The young man complained. "Welp, I guess I really can't help it, then. I thought about finding some bitches to rape and kill, but then I found you instead."

Fuuka couldn't help but feel repulsed by hearing the words of what the young man was saying.

"So, yeah… weird shit happened, but I guess that's how it is…" the young man said. "Name's Freed Sellzen, by the way." He slashed his glowing sword randomly into the air. A buzzing sound could be heard as the blade of light cut through the air, leaving trails of light behind. "I was so bored outta my mind, so I thought, 'Hey, why don't I go out and find some bitches to rape?' So, I found you two. Thought it's gonna be easy, but then it turned out I got to meet ya instead, robot girl."

Aigis put Fuuka down, and the young woman immediately hid herself behind the mechanical maiden.

The young man, Freed, seemed to be pondering over something as he stroked his imaginary beard before he snapped his fingers. "Hah! I've got a brilliant idea!" He said cheerfully before he looked at both Aigis and Fuuka, licking his lips lecherously. Fuuka shuddered upon seeing such a debauched look from the young man. "How about I cut ya down and rape both of ya?! Hey, that sounds pretty awesome! Prodigious! What a prodigious idea!"

Aigis could feel her rage starting to build up within her. "How repulsive…" she muttered before she dug into her jacket, taking out a specialized combat knife before taking a fighting stance. "Fuuka-san, run. Go straight home and lock the door. I shall deal with him."

"B-but-"

"Please," Aigis continued, not even allowing Fuuka to voice out her protest. "Just go. I won't let him lay his hand on you. Just run."

Fuuka seemed to have a troubled expression on her face before she reluctantly nodded. "P-please be safe, Aigis."

"Understood," Aigis responded. Fuuka spun on her heel and started running away.

But it didn't look like Freed was going to let her go anytime soon. "Aww, goin' away already?! Man, the party's just gettin' started!"

Much to Aigis' surprise, Freed dashed towards the fleeing Fuuka with such speed that could be considered inhuman. In less than three seconds, he managed to get close to Fuuka as he raised his sword of light over his head, intending to strike her down on her back.

"You ain't goin' anywhere, ya little kitty!" Freed shouted before he brought down his sword. The blade would slice through Fuuka's small back, and blood would be splattered onto the ground. The small frame of the young woman would hit the ground, eyes widened in shock, not unable to comprehend what was going on.

However, before the blade could even touch her, it was stopped by something, some kind of metal. Fuuka managed to get away from Freed. Frowning, Freed saw a figure starting to manifest itself right in front of him. It was a handsome man, clad in knightly armor, with a crimson cape covering the entirety of his back. He used a majestic-looking sword to block Freed's light blade.

"Wha…?" Blinking in incomprehension, Freed took a good look at the sandy-haired man before him. "Who the fuck are you?"

Before his question could be answered, his battle instincts screamed inside him, and he immediately twisted his body to see the mechanical maiden attacking him with her knife. He kicked the ground, jumping away from both the man and the battle maiden.

"I will not let you hurt Fuuka-san. I will not allow you to touch her or even a hair on her," Aigis said in a dangerously low tone, holding her knife in a reverse-grip position. It appeared that she had summoned the knightly man, her Persona to protect Fuuka in the nick of time.

"Who the fuck are you two?!" Freed repeated his question, this time the question included the mechanical maiden.

The knightly man smiled benevolently as he made a warrior salute with his sword. "Since you have enlightened us with your name, I suppose I shall do the same as well. I am Galahad, the God's Knight on Earth." He continued smiling as he assumed a fighting stance. The sword that he wielded glowed slightly. "And you, son, are going down."

As for Aigis, she looked at Freed with a pair of glowing blue eyes before she spoke, "You tried to hurt my friend, Freed-san. I will not let you walk away unscathed." Using her teeth, she removed the glove of her free hand, revealing her finger guns. "Shall we get started, then?"

Grinning, Freed responded, "Oho~! Is that a challenge?! Bring it on, robot girl!"

* * *

Issei Hyoudou was happy. After a few unlucky occasions such as being killed by his girlfriend and being attacked by Fallen Angels due to the Sacred Gear in his possession, he finally got himself a well-deserved break. The members of the Occult Research Club had been treating him well, and all the clients he had been making contracts with had brought him new experiences (even though they were complete and utter weirdos). And there was also the time he spent together with Asia and Aigis the other day.

In a way, he really adored Asia, and he wished for nothing but her happiness. He thought about introducing her to his friends next. He thought that Matsuda and Motohama would be thrilled to see such a bishoujo like Asia.

Due to some reasons, Issei was unable to teleport while contracting with his clients, so he opted to use a bicycle instead. It was kind of lame, as Koneko once pointed out, but he had to make use of it for the time being. The path of becoming a High-Class Devil and a Harem King sure was filled with thorny obstacles, and he had no choice but to brave through them. Once he managed to get himself a harem filled with big-breasted girls clad in revealing outfits (bunny suits, belly dancing dresses, swimsuits, bikinis, you name it), he would be able to reflect on his time when he had to struggle to achieve his dream.

Just thinking about scantily clad, big-breasted girls smothering him with their Oppai almost caused him to have another case of a bleeding nose, and there was a huge, perverted grin on that mug of his.

"Even so… things are getting a little better these days," Issei muttered to himself as he continued pushing his bicycle. It was almost evening, and his contracting job would begin at night. "Well, I won't say getting killed by my girlfriend is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life, but I guess things are improving bit by bit." He then sighed. While he had taken the fact that he was no longer a human being quite well, it was still an irreversible change. He knew that his life would never be the same again.

He shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it other than making the best out of it. For now, all he needed to do was to focus on achieving his goal on becoming the great Harem King.

As Issei continued pushing his bicycle down the street, there was a man, a rather tall one, walking opposite in his direction. He noticed that there was something strange about this man. While he had already seen many people with unusual hair colors, it was his first time seeing someone with multicolored hair. His hair was mostly dark brown, but his bangs were golden in color. He didn't see the man's face as he just walked past him, but he saw a goatee on the man's chin.

The man's clothing was almost as peculiar as the colors of his hair. Attired in a dark-colored loose yukata, the sounds he made as he walked seemed like he was wearing a pair of straw sandals. He seemed to be carrying a fishing rod over his shoulder.

_'Maybe just one random guy who enjoys fishing while watching the sunset, I guess,'_ Issei thought to himself.

And then, the man stopped. He wasn't too far from Issei when he did so.

"Hey, kid…"

The man spoke, his voice sounded slightly raspy. Issei stopped pushing his bicycle as he glanced behind.

"Hmm?" Issei blinked. Somehow, this one random guy who seemed to enjoy fishing while watching the sunset spoke to him. "What is it?"

Due to some reasons, Issei could feel that the man was smiling as he spoke, "Do you think it's the right time to do nothing?"

"Excuse me?" Issei frowned.

The man turned around, and Issei was able to see the man's face. The violet eyes of his reminded him of one particular girl who killed him during their first date, and Issei felt a little uneasy. The slight dimples on the corners of his mouth seemed to indicate that he smiled quite a lot.

"Things are getting a little chaotic over there, and if you don't act fast, she will probably be in great danger," the man spoke mysteriously.

Issei blinked confusedly. "Umm… I don't get what you're saying, and I should get going now. Someone needs me and-" He stopped when he saw an item in the man's hand.

"You recognize this, don't you?" The man asked.

"T-that's…" Issei could barely contain his surprise upon seeing the item, which was a penguin-shaped keychain that was green in color. It was a memento that Asia bought for herself to become a reminder of all the memories they made when they had fun together. "T-that's Asia-chan's keychain!" He said disbelievingly before he looked at the man with widened eyes. "H-how did you get it?"

"Well, I picked it up." The man shrugged before he tossed the keychain towards Issei, and the boy caught it with both hands. "Somehow, something within her possession is going to be taken away, and she will be in grave danger."

"T-this…" Issei held the keychain in his hands before he looked at the yukata-clad man again. "Her possession? D-do you mean… her Sacred Gear?"

The man just shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Asia-chan's in danger?" Issei looked at the keychain in his hands. Then, he recalled the time when he was targeted by the Fallen Angels. "W-wait, do you mean the Fallen Angels are going after her too?! Are they going to kill her because of her Sacred Gear?"

"Hmm… well, I've told you enough, kid," the man said before he turned around and started walking away. "The rest is up to you to decide." He turned to the corner, disappearing from Issei's view.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Issei shouted, running after the man. When he arrived at the corner, the man had mysteriously vanished. "Huh?!" Blinking his eyes in confusion, he stared at the empty street for a few seconds before he felt the serrated surface of the keychain in his hand that was clenched into a fist.

He told him that Asia was in danger. If that was the case, then they might do something that they had done to him before. The boy gritted his teeth, feeling a sensation that started building up within him.

"There's no way…" Issei spoke in low, throaty voice. "There's no way I'm going to let Asia-chan die!" He immediately spun on his heel, thinking about going to inform Buchou and the rest but immediately stopped when he remembered that Asia was a member of the Church, a natural enemy of the Devils. "No… I can't tell Buchou about this." He shook his head. There had to be someone else who could help him.

Yes. Her. She's the only one who could help him now.

"Ai-chan…" Issei said. "Yes, Ai-chan. She probably can help somehow." He shoved the green keychain into his pocket before he got up on his bicycle. "Her house is probably that way!"

As fast as he could, he rode his bicycle in the direction where Aigis' apartment was probably located.

"Hang on there, Asia-chan!" Issei shouted as he continued cycling. "I'm bringing help, so you have to hang in there!"

* * *

"Tch!" Freed was no longer smiling as he fought both Galahad and Aigis at the same time. Not only were they able to deflect all his blows and hits, they were also fast enough to avoid being hit by his exorcist bullets. "Hey, this is unfair! Why do I have to fight against you two at the same time?!"

Even so, it was quite impressive for him to be able to keep up with both the knight and the battle maiden simultaneously. Despite being a normal human, his prowess in combat was truly quite a sight to behold.

"Stop complaining so I can finally subdue you, Freed-san," Aigis said, parrying the light blade with her combat knife.

"And I don't see you have any right to complain at all, son," the knight spoke to the exorcist in a chiding manner.

"Grr…" Freed growled before he leaped back, making a distance between two of them and him. He held his sword in one hand and his exorcist gun in the other. "It ain't fair, y'know?! You should get yourselves cut down instead!" Then, he glared at Aigis. "And after that, I should get to rape you too!"

Aigis blinked. "I believe it should be impossible for you to do so, Freed-san, unless if you are really that depraved." She scowled. "Very, very depraved."

"Pfft, so what if you're a robot?! Ya look like a girl, so… why the fuck not?! Maybe I get to skullfuck you too after I cut ya down to pieces!" Freed said.

"What a pathetic excuse of a man you are, Freed Sellzen…" Galahad shook his head. "Even so, the way you fight and the weapons you wield… the holy aura from the sword of yours is unmistakably a blade of light. And the bullets that your gun shoots seem to have the capability to exorcise dark beings," he observed the white-haired young man. "Are you perhaps an exorcist?"

Freed glared at the knight. "So what if I was?! I got to learn a few nifty tricks from the Church! And I can kill monsters too with 'em! I love killin' monsters, and if they're females, I rape 'em first before I kill 'em!" The stray exorcist cackled. "Then they excommunicated me because I love killin' monsters! Pfft! They asked me to kill monsters, but then, they kicked me out when I came to enjoy killin' monsters! If they're tryin' to make jokes, they ain't funny!"

Aigis frowned as she looked at the excommunicated exorcist. "You used to be under the Church? The same Church that Asia-san belongs to?"

Freed gave Aigis a curious look. "Asia? Ya mean… Asia Argento? How didja get to know her?"

"I befriended her," Aigis answered.

Freed suddenly laughed. "Pfft! Befriended her?! Tell me you ain't joking here! Pffthahaha! C'mon now! My stomach's hurtin' here, y'know?!"

Aigis gave Freed a strange look. "What is so funny, Freed-san?" She didn't lower her guard as she continued observing the crazed exorcist. Her Persona, Galahad, went to her side, standing while holding his sword with both hands.

"Hahahaha, ya really don't have any idea who she is, do ya?!" Freed continued cackling after saying that. "Don'tcha know she's the same like me?!"

"Same like you?" Aigis furrowed her brow.

"Yup, the same like cute little ol' me," Freed said, baring his teeth as he grinned. "She's also excommunicated, just like me! The reason? She used her Sacred Gear to heal a Devil! She used her power to help the enemy of God! That's why she was kicked out by the Church! She is a heretic, and a heretic deserves to be punted out to the street to rot and die! That's why she got taken in by Fallen Angels instead! She's still a stupid little bitch, but at least she can be useful!"

Aigis tightened her grip on her combat knife.

"So, what's the matter, robot girl? Ya angry or somethin'?" Freed spoke with his irritating voice. "So, this cute lil' sister ya befriended is a heretic, and she probably lied to ya 'cause nobody wants a heretic like her to be her friend, right? C'mon, say I'm right!"

"Shut up…"

"Huh?"

Her headband seemed to be glowing blue as Aigis threw a contemptuous glare at the excommunicated exorcist.

"Freed Sellzen… I told you to shut up…" Aigis spoke in an uncharacteristically guttural tone. "I cannot accept it. I absolutely cannot accept it. Not only are you a pathetic excuse for a human being, you are also a monster. You badmouthing Asia-san isn't helping your case either. There is nothing human about you." Her blue eyes glinted dangerously. "All I see standing before me is trash that needs to be disposed."

Freed wanted to retort, but somehow, the pressure that came from the mechanical maiden seemed to stop him from voicing it out.

"I have to admit, that in a way, I am probably a monster too…" Aigis continued. "There is nothing human about me. My body consists of metal bits and wires, and yet, I can proudly proclaim that I am more human than you are! I am a machine, a weapon, a monster…" She brought her hand to her chest. "But with my heart inside me, I can proudly claim that I am also a human. And you," she brought her hand to point at Freed, "are not."

"Pfft! What kind of joke is that?! Are ya seriously tellin' me tha-" Before Freed could finish, Aigis instantly disappeared from the spot where she was standing on before he saw her zooming towards him at high-speed. Using her rocket propellers, she rushed over to him, leaving steams and trails of azure light as she moved. "What the?!"

Freed immediately brought up his exorcist gun and pulled the trigger, firing at the advancing battle android. Nimbly, Aigis avoided and dodged all the attacks as she advanced forward.

"Clench those teeth!" Aigis then threw a fist towards Freed's face, hitting him straight on his cheek. The rocket-propelled punch, added with the fact that Aigis' hands were made of sturdy materials, caused the exorcist to be sent flying a few meters back. His body landed on the ground with a thud.

The punch seemingly knocked Freed out cold. It was still quite a wonder that his jaw was still left intact after the punch.

"Enemy, taken down," Aigis announced, unclenching her hand. She looked at Galahad, who was not too far from her, giving him a nod before the Persona dissolved into motes of blue light.

She went closer to the prone form of Freed, who was unconscious. She was tempted to fill that skull of his with her high-caliber bullets, spilling his grey matter onto the ground. But doing so would be wrong. He might be a monster, but she shouldn't necessarily bring herself down to his level.

"Aigis!"

The mechanical maiden perked her head upon hearing her name being shouted by a familiar voice. She turned around and saw Fuuka, running towards her with tears in her eyes. Then she pounced on her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Fuuka-san?" Aigis blinked a few times in bemusement.

"A-Aigis, a-are you alright?! Did he hurt you somewhere?!" Fuuka was panicking as she looked at her with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Seeing the young woman in such a state, Aigis smiled gently before she brought her hand to wipe her tears. "I am unhurt, Fuuka-san. Please do not worry." Then, she frowned. "But, didn't I tell you to go home and lock the door? Why are you still here?"

Hiccuping, Fuuka said, "I-I was worried! I thought he was going t-to… t-to…" She was unable to continue as she buried her face against Aigis' chest, sobbing quietly. The mechanical maiden sighed as she patted the young woman's back.

"There, there," Aigis cooed. "I won, and no one will be hurt anymore." She glanced at the unconscious Freed not too far from them.

When Fuuka finally calmed down, she let go of Aigis, blushing slightly. Drying her tears, she looked at the unconscious Freed. "S-so… what are we going to do with him?" She asked.

"I suppose we have to leave him at the station," Aigis said, nodding. "But first, there is still a matter that I have to attend to." She looked in a direction worriedly. "I have a feeling that a friend of mine is in trouble. I… I am worried."

And so, after leaving the unconscious Freed at a nearby police station, restraining him with ropes that were conveniently found nearby and leaving a note describing who this person was and what he had done which made him deserve to be left there, both Fuuka and Aigis walked home. Freed's weapons had been safely disposed. The mechanical maiden wanted to prepare herself. If Asia was in danger, then she had to be ready.

When they arrived at her apartment, however, they saw a boy, who seemed to be waiting for Aigis. Worry seemed to be evident on his face as he waited for her.

"Issei-san?" Aigis blinked before she approached him. "What's the matter, Issei-san? Why are you here?" She asked.

"A-Ai-chan!" Issei looked at Aigis. "I-it's… Asia-chan, she's… F-Fallen Angels…" It appeared that Issei was unable to come up with anything coherent.

"Please calm down, Issei-san. Take a deep breath before you speak," Aigis told the boy.

"A-alright, alright… I-I'll do that." Issei took a deep breath, and then another. After finally calming down, he looked straight into Aigis' eyes and spoke, "W-well, it's like this…"

Issei told her about his encounter with one particular man who gave him a warning before giving him Asia's keychain. He also told her that Asia might be targeted by the Fallen Angels due to her Sacred Gear.

"I see…" Aigis mused. "Issei-san, I believe both of us have come up with the same conclusion. Something is happening to Asia-san." She nodded.

"S-so, what are we gonna do?" Issei asked, nervous.

Aigis patted Issei's shoulder. "We go and fight. There is no way I can allow anyone, even those Fallen Angels to hurt her. Are you with me, Issei-san?"

Issei nodded. "Of course! I will not forgive myself if something happens to Asia-chan!"

Aigis smiled. "Good. Let us depart immediately."

"Right!" Issei said.

"Umm…" Then, Issei noticed the young woman who was with Aigis. He looked at her, and the first thing that came to his mind was that she was pretty, a bishoujo with a petite frame and a cute look.

"Hey, so you're Ai-chan's friend?" Issei spoke to Fuuka. "Name's Issei Hyoudou. My friends get to call me Issei." He shrugged. "But maybe we can talk later. We have something to do, right?" He looked at Aigis.

"Affirmative," Aigis nodded. "Fuuka-san, please remain in my apartment, and please lock the door. If anything happens, do not hesitate to open the emergency box near my capsule seat. Use it to defend yourself if something shows up to threaten you," she told the young woman.

"Y-you mean… a gun?" Fuuka asked.

"A modified Glock 17, to be exact," Aigis answered. "You do know how to fire a gun, do you not?"

Fuuka nodded. "M-Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai showed me the basics."

"Good. Now, please be safe. We shall be going now."

And so, both Aigis and Issei left.

As for Fuuka, she was still pretty agitated by this whole situation. A while ago, when the boy named Issei spoke to her, she detected an enormous power from him. Using her Persona, Juno, she could feel some kind of presence within the boy.

She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the shape of the presence within the boy, and she gasped when the images came into her mind. "W-what the?!" She brought her hands to her head, trying to make sense from what she had seen.

_-a beastly roar that fills the heaven-_

_-a mighty presence that shakes the earth-_

_-a pair of gleaming emerald eyes, filled with nothing but power beyond imagination-_

_-crimson, scaly hide of a saurian body-_

Fuuka fell to her knees, panting. The torrent of images that came into her mind drained her will to stand upright. "W-what… what is that? What in the world is that?!" She muttered in disbelief.

_-the crimson emperor takes flight, and the world once again comes to learn the might of-_

Fuuka shook her head. She immediately dismissed Juno as she tried to regain her composure. That was it. That was the presence that she sensed within the boy who called himself Issei Hyoudou.

Even in her confusion, something else came over to her. As she regained her composure, she got up on her feet, rubbing her arm a few times and leaned against the door of Aigis' apartment. It had been a while since the last time she beheld something completely incomprehensible like this.

She was curious.

"What are you, Issei Hyoudou-san?"

She was curious in the boy named Issei Hyoudou.

* * *

Both Issei and Aigis ran down the streets, intending to find where Asia was. But then, they realized that they had no idea where to find the nun.

"Gah, how in the world are we going to find a nun in this town to begin with?!" Issei screamed in frustration, ruffling his own spiky hair with his hands.

"Let us think, Issei-san. Where do you think Asia-san will be staying at night?" Aigis asked.

"W-well, she did tell me before that she'd been sleeping at manga café. And small chapels. Or maybe-" He stopped. "Wait a minute, that's it!"

"That's it what, Issei-san?" Aigis blinked.

"This is just a hunch, okay, but I think this is it." Issei nodded as he looked at Aigis. "I think there are a lot of small chapels around the town, but there's only one big church here, and it's abandoned. There's a chance that she might be there."

"Are you sure?" Aigis asked.

"Like I said, it's just a hunch. But, let's go with that first," Issei said. "C'mon, Ai-chan! We gotta hurry! It's already nighttime!" The sun had already set two hours ago, and the night sky was filled with stars. A full moon could be seen in the night sky above them.

"A-affirmative!" Aigis replied as she followed after Issei. Both of them ran towards the direction of where they thought they could find Asia.

They ran down the streets for almost half an hour before they finally arrived. Being an android, Aigis didn't seem to be exhausted, but as for Issei, he was panting heavily because he had been running for thirty minutes straight, nonstop. Devil or not, he still had his limitations.

"Hah… man, I think I'm gonna fall down," Issei said between pants.

"Don't fall down yet," Aigis told the boy. "We have company."

Both of them were standing before the abandoned cathedral near the outskirts of the town, and standing in front of the entrance were three figures. Aigis recognized them well because she had beaten them down days ago.

"Fallen Angels…" Aigis spoke.

One of them, a middle-aged one, looked at the mechanical maiden. "It's you." His eyes looked around to see any sign of the goddess of wisdom. Relief spread on his look upon confirming her absence. Then, he sighed. "I knew it. I told you this is going to be a pain in the ass…"

The woman beside him, who was attired in a rather provocative outfit, folded her arms below her rather ample bosom. "There's no use complaining about it, Dohnaseek. Raynare told us to keep anyone away from here."

The middle-aged man sighed again. "That's what I said, Kalawarner. Pain in the ass."

The diminutive among the trio, upon seeing the battle maiden, immediately hid herself behind Kalawarner, fear clearly evident on her face. It was clear that the petite Fallen Angel, Mittelt, was deeply traumatized by her encounter with the android.

Aigis stepped forward, her look calm and composed. "Please step aside. I have a friend to rescue. You three standing in my way will not help her case," she spoke in a clear voice.

Dohnaseek looked at the mechanical maiden before he adjusted his fedora. "Well, I'm sorry to say, missy, but no can do. Our leader specifically told us to not let anyone in, even if it's you." He conjured a spear of light.

"What he said," Kalawarner nodded. Like Dohnaseek, she also made herself a spear of light.

Despite still being terrified, Mittelt also summoned a spear made of light, holding it with her hand.

"I see…" Aigis mused. "I suppose I have no choice but to defeat you three, then."

**[Please, allow me, dear.]**

Upon hearing the voice inside her head, Aigis closed her eyes, and her body was wreathed in an azure light before a figure materialized itself beside her. It was a woman, whose body moved sensually as she floated slightly above the ground upon being materialized before slowly landing to the ground.

"Scathach…" Aigis spoke the name of the woman, the Persona that she summoned from the sea of her soul.

Issei took a good look at the woman who just suddenly showed up. The way she moved her hips was very arousing, if he had to be honest. And let's not mention her rather revealing clothing, which consisted of a cropped top and a bikini bottom, which exposed her midriff and well-proportioned legs and thighs. And he also couldn't help but notice her rather large, opulent breasts which seemed to move in tandem with her movements as she swayed her hips.

"E-erotic…" Issei could barely stop himself from having a nosebleed. The woman, Scathach, noticed this and made a seductive smile at the boy.

"You like what you see, boy?" Scathach spoke in a rather sensual tone. "You can get your chance soon to cop a feel, m'kay? But still, we have something to deal first." She stepped forward, looking at the trio of Fallen Angels before her. "Dear," she addressed Aigis, "go and bring the boy into the church. I can deal with them alone."

"Affirmative. You have my gratitude, Scathach," Aigis said to the great teacher before she looked at Issei. "Let's go, Issei-san."

Issei nodded before both of them went to the entrance. Before they could reach it, however, Kalawarner stood in their path, her black wings expanded to their full length.

"Sorry, but you can't," Kalawarner said. "Why don't yo-" Before she could finish what she wanted to say, a sound of something cutting through the air was heard. Kalawarner immediately leaped away, barely avoiding an invisible wind blade that was conjured by Scathach.

"Your opponent is me," Scathach said, her glowing, hearth-like eyes flared with intensity. "Don't take your eyes off me, or else you are going to regret it." She smiled as she levitated, floating several feet above the ground. "There are only a few who can survive the cruelty of the Land of Shadows. Let us see whether you can withstand the attack of the one who relishes in such cruelty."

With all the Fallen Angels being preoccupied by Scathach, both Aigis and Issei ran into the church. Upon entering the abandoned cathedral, they found that the hall was empty, but then, they saw an entrance that seemed to lead to an underground chamber was open.

"She's probably there! C'mon, Ai-chan!" Issei said before he rushed into the entrance, followed by Aigis.

When they reached the underground chamber, however, they found themselves standing before more than three dozen people, clad in clerical robes, armed with glowing swords of light which resembled the one that Freed Sellzen had used to fight. Right on the altar that was behind all these robed people, they saw Raynare, her body wrapped in a form-fitting cloak, standing beside a structure which looked like a cross.

And chained on the cross was none other than Asia Argento herself, her eyes closed.

"ASIA!"

* * *

A yukata-clad man with multicolored hair was seen sitting on the harbor, humming a tune while fishing. From the looks of it, he seemed like a random person who liked to enjoy fishing under the night sky.

"I can't believe you made an artificial Sacred Gear fishing rod." A sigh was heard as a young man with silver hair came into view. He seemed to be wearing a leather jacket with a popped up collar over a green shirt. He was also wearing a pair of black chaps over his denim pants.

Upon seeing this young man's appearance, the yukata-clad man turned to look at him, his violet eyes met the piercing blue of the young man's. Shrugging, he spoke, "It's just a hobby of mine and you know it." He smiled. "Come on, Vali. Take a seat beside me. Fishing can be a little boring without someone to talk to, you know?"

Wordlessly, the young man who was called Vali took a seat beside the yukata-clad man who was fishing.

"Something on your mind?" The fishing man asked.

For a while, Vali was silent. Then he spoke, "Do you believe this is the right thing to do? I mean, everything seems pretty complicated to me." He looked at the sea in front of him. "You can just ask me to kill those idiots and be done with it."

The fishing man smiled. "Vali… if only everything can be solved by spilling the blood of others…" Then, the fishing rod he was holding seemed to be moving. "Alright, I got this!" He reeled up before he finally pulled out a sea trout. "Hell yeah! What a catch!" He grabbed the fish with his hand and pulled the hook out of the fish's mouth. "See, Vali? I got a sea trout! I told you this Sacred Gear can function well!" He handed Vali the sea trout.

Vali took the sea trout, studying it for a few seconds before he tossed it back into the sea. A few splashing sounds could be heard as the sea trout returned to its home. "You are no stranger to bloodshed, are you not? You know that your little Fallen Angels had done something that shouldn't be done, and yet you refuse to have them killed. Why is that?" His blue eyes focused on the man.

After a few seconds, the man sighed. "Vali… I may be a sinful creature, a heretic who has fallen from his God's grace, a rebellious child who fought against his Father's will, but…" There was melancholy in his violet eyes. "Even I know how sacred, how priceless a life is. If only I knew this when I fought during the Great War…" He sighed.

Vali silently listened to the man's words, which were laced with sorrow.

"Listen to me, Vali. I'm old and weary, and I've had enough of all the deaths in my life. I've lost many people who I considered as my close friends, my brothers, my sisters…" the man continued. "Sometimes, I kind of forgot their names. There were some other times when I forgot what their faces looked like." He smiled sadly. "That's why we put their pictures over there, back at the Institute, so that we will never forget them. It is so that I will never forget them."

"They were… killed?" Vali asked.

"Deaths come in many ways, not only through killing," the man answered. "Throughout the years, I've seen many people losing their lives over something so… inconsequential, so insubstantial. I mean, there are ways for them to keep on living, without having them dying so meaninglessly. So, why do they have to die?" He shrugged. "I already stopped thinking about it, because like it or not, death is certain. But if I can help it, I want to stop anyone from dying before my eyes. That is why I didn't send you to stop these children."

He sighed before he held the fishing rod with both hands before it retracted and vanished.

"They misinterpreted my orders, but I don't blame them for it," the man said. "They are unpredictable, chaotic lots. When I told Raynare to observe the boy to determine whether he's a hazard to the survival of our kind or not, she misinterpreted my words. She believed that I wanted him to be eliminated because he is a hazard to the Fallen Angels. Then again, I don't blame her. As a matter of fact, I don't blame anyone." He sighed. "I'm just tired with all these blaming games. They lose their novelty after a while, you see?"

"If you believe that not killing them is the best choice, why did you decide to rely on the Devils?" Vali asked. "I believe that they may end up killing them for their blatant transgression."

The man smiled mysteriously. "And that's when our role is truly needed. Come on, Vali. We have a lot of things to do. A few preparations are needed for what is going to happen tonight. And if we're lucky enough, then we may end up witnessing something truly awe-inspiring." He stood up before he started walking away.

"Awe-inspiring?" Vali inquired, looking at the back of the yukata-clad man who was walking away.

"Yup, and it's about time the red one awakens, right?" The man glanced over his shoulder.

Vali sighed before he followed the man. Six pairs of jet-black wings emerged from the yukata-clad man's back, sending obsidian feathers everywhere.

"Yes, I suppose you are right, Azazel."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is me, Prince Arjuna. Thank you for reading and reviewing the last chapter, and pointing out the flaw of that particular chapter. Thanks to you, I have edited the last chapter. So, if you see some glaring flaws in my story, don't hesitate to point them out. And so, I somehow introduces Azazel and Vali earlier. Let us see what is going to happen in the next chapter. By the way, the next chapter will focus more on Issei, because as a supporting main character, he also needs his spotlight, right? It's not fair for our cute little Ai-chan to hog all the attentions, am I wrong?

Okay, this time, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. Glad to work alongside you.

Don't forget to leave some reviews, by the way. They are important for my sustenance, you see? See you guys in the next chapter, **Chapter 10: Boosted Gear.**

**What I have planned:** Mitsuru meets Sirzech. That is all.

**Edit:** The part where Fuuka detected something is altered slightly.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	10. Boosted Gear

_In the end, God didn't answer my prayers._

_But still, I couldn't bring myself to hate Him. No, there's no way I could hate Him, the All-Compassionate God, the one who brought mercy to all. For me to hate Him for not answering my prayers, it was just… selfish._

_Probably Raynare-san was right all along. She told me that I am an unwanted child and nobody loves me. She was right, I suppose. And then she told me that the only place where I belong to is among the Fallen Angels. Like me, they were also abandoned by God._

_In the end, Raynare-san decided that she would extract my Sacred Gear by using a tool, and she told me that I would die after the extraction. She said that it was my only role for them, and it was the only way for me to be useful to them._

_Still, I couldn't bring myself to hate Raynare-san. If I could at least be useful to her, then… I wouldn't mind dying. She told me that if I wanted to blame anyone, blame the God who put the Sacred Gear inside me. Of course, I declined. I told her that I would never blame anyone, not God, nor Raynare-san. If there was someone I'd be willing to place all the blame, it had to be myself._

_She told me how idiotic I was when I said that to her as she looked away. When she glanced at me, I saw her violet eyes, filled with a mixture of emotions: anger, confusion, sadness… and more. I wanted to ask if she was alright, but she yelled at me when I tried to do that, telling me to shut up and mind my own business._

_When the preparation for the removing ceremony was completed, I was brought into the underground chamber of the cathedral. I saw a lot of people in there, clad in clerical robes. Based from my understanding, they had to be the exorcists, just like Father Sellzen. Just thinking about Father Sellzen caused me to shudder. I couldn't imagine what he was going to do to me at that time if Raynare-san didn't intervene._

_And yet, I couldn't bring myself to hate Father Sellzen for that. There had to be some reason why he wanted to do that to me. After all, I didn't show up at the church, so I might have angered him because of that._

_After entering the underground chamber, Raynare-san brought me to the altar, where a large cross was placed. It was a device developed by the Fallen Angels that could be used to extract a Sacred Gear from its user, and like I said before, the process of removing a Sacred Gear would cause the death of its user._

_I couldn't imagine how it would be like to die. I saw people die in front of me before. Some passed away peacefully, and some didn't. When Raynare-san told me to go to the altar, I followed her order before she started chaining me up to the cross._

_It did hurt a bit to be suspended by the chains on the cross due to my weight. The device would soon be activated, and my Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, would be extracted._

_I looked down from the cross I was chained to, and I saw Raynare-san. She looked away, as if trying to hide her face from me. She was probably angry at me over something._

_I would die, abandoned and unloved. If this was how it was supposed to be, I had no choice but to accept it. I closed my eyes, waiting for the device to be activated. As I waited, I recalled everything that had happened to me, like the moment when I used Twilight Healing to heal a Devil, the time when I was excommunicated by the Church, the time when I took a flight from Italy to Japan, the time when I got lost and the moment when I met Ai-san and Issei-san._

_As I remembered the faces of both Ai-san and Issei-san, I couldn't help but feel warm. It was a short time, but it was the happiest time I ever had in my life. Both Ai-san and Issei-san were so nice and kind to me. I recalled the time when they showed me around the town, experiencing all the new things that I never experienced before. Just remembering all the memories we made together made me happy._

_Oh God… I know it would be so selfish of me to ask of you, but will you listen to this worthless girl's last prayer?_

_If only I…_

_…can have one more moment, together with Ai-san and Issei-san, then…_

_…I think, I can die, without…_

_…regret._

_As I remained suspended on the cross, I made my final prayer. Not to ask for His help, not to ask for His answer, but just one last wish…_

_I wish to spend more time with Ai-san and Issei-san together, even if it was just for a short time._

_Of course, that would be impossible. But at least, I wanted to hear their voices once again. I wanted to hear Ai-san's voice, saying my name with her gentle, kind voice that brought warmth into my heart. I wanted to hear Issei-san's voice, calling me with his affectionate tone that made me feel happy. I would be happy if I could hear their voices one last time._

"ASIA!"

_I jerked my head when I heard a familiar voice. I opened my eyes and saw Issei-san and Ai-san. It was Issei-san who called for my name._

_And at that time, the device activated, and I came to know pain._

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 10: Boosted Gear**

The moment Issei shouted Asia's name, the cross-like structure, the one that Asia had been chained to, glowed eerily with a sickly green glow. The nun let out a pained scream as her body was enveloped by the green light.

"ASIA!" Issei shouted. He was about to charge forward, but the exorcists within the chamber stood in his way. "Get outta my way! A-Asia… she's-" His expression twisted up into an anguished one. "Put her down!"

"Issei-san, please don't recklessly charge forward!" Aigis warned, but from her expression alone, one could tell that she was feeling the same as Issei upon seeing Asia being subjected to such torture, which seemed evident from her scream of pain. "These people… they are in our way."

When the glow faded, Asia stopped screaming, and the nun dropped her head lifelessly.

"N-no… No way…" Issei muttered in disbelief. "N-not her… Not Asia…"

"A-Asia-san…" Aigis' eyes widened in shock. She looked at the crucified figure of Asia, and a few images flashed in her mind.

_-a lone statue, chained upon a great, golden gate, alone in front of the twisted monstrosity before it-_

Aigis shook her head. Now wasn't the time to remember that. Something happened to Asia, and from the looks of it, it definitely wasn't good.

Raynare, who was standing near the cross, walked over to its front, holding out her hands to get the shining object that seemingly emerged from the chained nun, and both Aigis and Issei recognized the object as a ring, Asia's Sacred Gear, the Twilight Healing.

In an alternate scenario, in which Raynare never got her arm cut, she might have been laughing upon obtaining the Sacred Gear that was extracted from the nun, but here, her expression was somber. There was no light in her violet eyes. She held the ring in one hand, closing her eyes before she put it on herself. She put the Sacred Gear on herself, and her body glowed slightly.

"With this… I will be able to stand a chance against that bitch…" Raynare muttered before she turned to look at the intruders. "So… you have come?" She glanced left and right to see one particular woman equipped in battle gears, armed with a large shield and a barbed spear. She scowled upon confirming her absence. "Where is she? Where is that bitch who cut my arm?" She asked in low tone.

Aigis knew that Raynare was talking about Athena. She didn't answer the Fallen Angel as she pulled out her combat knife, holding it with a reverse grip.

"So… you don't feel like answering, do you?" Raynare spoke before she sighed. "Very well." She took off the cloak, revealing the clothes that she wore underneath. She was no longer wearing the straps that barely covered anything, but instead, she was wearing something that covered most parts of her skin. Even so, the clothing she wore still exposed her cleavage and midriff. The pants that she wore, while much better than before, still barely covered anything below her torso. The entirety of her right arm was covered in a crimson bandage, with a few rosaries hanging on it.

Aigis frowned. She remembered Pallas Athena severing that arm. She probably found a way to regenerate it back.

"I will kill you two…" Raynare said, removing the rosaries from her arm. "Before that, I will disembowel you and feed you your entrails." She looked at Issei. "I will gouge your eyes out and crush them underfoot before I force you to lick your crushed eyeballs off the floor." Then, she looked at Aigis. "As for you, I will crush all your limbs and cut out your tongue. Then I will violate you repeatedly until you beg for me to stop like the bitch that you are. Only after that, I will kill you two and hang your naked and mutilated remains for all to see. I am sure that by that point, the bitch who cut my arm will show up, and I will make sure that anything that I have done to you will be much worse for her. I will rape her again, and again, and again until she begs for me to stop. Only after that I will kill her, and her naked corpse will join yours too."

Both Aigis and Issei were taken aback by how calm those words were uttered, despite the audacious threats that the Fallen Angel had given. It might be better if she said those words while laughing and insulting them, but here she was, threatening to do so while having a calm expression on her face. She began unwrapping the red bandage, revealing the arm underneath.

The first thing that Aigis noticed about Raynare's arm was that it was glowing, as if it was made of light. Then, she realized that it was indeed made of light. Raynare looked at her fake arm shifting itself. One could see that the arm that was made of light was trying to retain its shape as an arm, but the constant shifting and rippling on the surface of the arm made it look more like a tendril. It made a sizzling noise as it shifted.

"Tch!" Raynare clicked her tongue as she looked down on her new arm. "Peachy, my ass. This thing can barely be called a hand…" Then, she sighed. "But, I suppose if it can help me take down that bitch, then it will have to do in the meantime." She held up the arm of light, and it suddenly elongated, zooming upward towards the ceiling. When the palm of the fake, elongated arm slammed against the ceiling, she pulled down a large chunk of concrete with that hand before she tossed it away. The exorcists scampered away to avoid being hit by the debris that were produced by the throw.

"A fake arm…" Aigis muttered. From what she had seen, Raynare somehow made herself a new arm, which was made of light, and it seemed to allow her to use it to attack from a distance without using her spear. And from what she could see, the force generated from the arm was something to not be trifled with.

The arm of light then retracted itself, shifting back into the size of a normal arm. She clenched her hand into a fist.

"Now, prepare yourselves, worms!" Raynare bellowed, and her wings exploded out of her back, expanding to their full length. With a mighty leap, she propelled herself forward, charging towards both Aigis and Issei. Her arm of light shifted itself into a blade, and as she was quickly approaching both of them, she swung it down on them, intending to incapacitate them with one blow.

Aigis reacted by pushing Issei away before jumping backward so that the two of them could avoid being hit by the blade. The blade cut through the floor as easily as a knife cuts through a block of butter. In retaliation, Aigis brought up one of her hands, aiming her finger guns at the Fallen Angel.

"Target locked!" Aigis shouted, firing a barrage of high-caliber bullets at Raynare.

Raynare looked at the battle android and her arm of light shifted again, this time taking the shape of a shield, blocking all the bullets that were targeting her. But then, she found out that it was just a distraction as Aigis rushed to Issei's side and scooped him up into her arms before she used her rocket propellers to jump away over Raynare's head as well as the exorcists', going towards the altar.

Gracefully, Aigis landed on her legs right in front of the cross where Asia was tethered to. She put Issei down and scanned the nun, whose eyes were closed. She still could detect heartbeats from her, and she was still breathing, albeit barely. She raised one of her finger guns, aiming to break the chains that had been restraining the nun by shooting them. With precision, she shot at the chains, breaking Asia free. She had done this before, after breaking out of Ikutsuki's control by releasing the members of SEES, who were captured after that madman's betrayal. He had remote-controlled her in order to sacrifice the Persona-users, but through sheer force of will and her loyalty to her leader, she completely overrode the order and defied Ikutsuki, releasing all of them by shooting at their restraints.

"Issei-san, catch Asia-san!" Aigis ordered the boy.

"G-got it!" Issei said. By shooting the chains, Asia started to fall, but Issei managed to catch her in the nick of time.

"Let us escape, Issei-san!" Aigis told the boy.

"A-alright!" Issei nodded, carrying the unconscious Asia with both of his arms. Before they could even leave the altar, however, the exorcists stood in their way, glowing swords readied in their hands. "Shit!"

Being a distance away from them, Raynare shouted, "Don't let them get away! Subdue them! Cut their legs if you must! But don't kill them! I'll be the one who will end their lives!"

"Issei-san…" Aigis stepped forward, preparing her firearms and her knife. "Stand by my side. I will not allow any of you to be hurt." She stood in front of Issei, facing the group of exorcists in front of her. Then, she glanced over her shoulder, looking at Issei. "No matter what, I will protect you."

"Ai-chan…" Issei muttered as he held Asia tightly in his arms.

Just when the exorcists were about to charge to attack the brown-haired boy and the mechanical maiden, a sword suddenly zoomed forward from the stairway that would lead to the main hall, narrowly missing Raynare before it embedded itself into the head of one of the exorcists.

"Wha-" Raynare's eyes widened before she looked behind to see where the sword came from, only to have a shoe sole slamming itself onto her face. "Hurk!" And it happened that the owner of the shoe sole was a petite girl with white hair, and she somehow jumped onto Raynare's face and stepped on it the moment the Fallen Angel looked behind.

Using Raynare as a jumping board, the girl leaped towards the exorcists, while a blond boy armed with two swords ran past the Fallen Angel. Both of them practically rammed themselves against the exorcists, sending a lot of them flying with their sudden assault. The girl skillfully dodged the attacks from the exorcists before sending them away with punches and kicks as the boy used his swords to block and parry any attacks that were sent to him, retaliating by skillfully cutting down his opponents with ease.

"K-Kiba?! Koneko-chan?!" Issei gasped in disbelief. "B-but how-"

"We got an anonymous message from someone, telling us that you somehow got involved in some sort of trouble, in which you probably need to get bailed out of," Kiba answered, sidestepping in order to avoid a slash before he kicked an exorcist away. "So, we ended up coming here," he said with a smile. "And by the way, Buchou and Akeno-san are on their way too. They will be here at any moment soon."

"Y-you guys…"

"Run," Koneko said, grabbing one of the exorcists before she tossed him to the others with a mighty throw. "We will stall them."

Raynare was still on the floor, writhing in pain. There was an obvious footprint on her face, courtesy of Koneko using her as an impromptu jumping board earlier.

"Alright, thanks guys!" Issei said before he looked at Aigis. "C'mon, Ai-chan! Let's get the hell outta here!"

"Understood!" Aigis nodded before they ran to the stairway, going to the main hall of the cathedral. Carrying Asia in his arms, Issei climbed the stairway with Aigis running alongside him. When they finally reached the hall, they rushed to the outside of the church. There was no sign of battle outside, and Scathach, as well as the Fallen Angels who were guarding the entrance, were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were fighting somewhere away from the church.

"Here!" Issei shouted, running towards the nearby forest that was behind the church. That way, even if they were pursued, the trees would stand in their pursuer's way. Together with Aigis, they navigated into the woods, running before they finally stopped.

"This should be far enough," Aigis said. "Let us check on Asia-san."

"R-right!" Issei said before he placed the unconscious nun, letting her to lean against a tree. Her skin was pale and her breathing was worryingly shallow. "Ai-chan, is there something you can do?" The boy asked the android.

"We'll see what I can do," Aigis said before she held out her hand, touching Asia's forehead before the hand glowed.

When Aigis pulled back her hand, Asia's eyelids slowly fluttered open, and her unfocused green eyes looked at both Aigis and Issei.

"Ai-san…?" Asia spoke weakly, looking at Aigis' concerned face. "Issei-san…?" Her eyes shifted to look at Issei, who seemed to be distressed by her condition.

"Asia-chan!" Issei immediately held Asia's hand. "We're here! We'll find some help for you! I'm sure of it!"

"Issei-san is right, Asia-san." Aigis nodded, holding Asia's other hand, trying to give the nun a reassuring smile. "I am sure Gremory-san will help you somehow. You have to just hang in there in the meantime…"

"Ah…" Despite her weakened state, Asia smiled. "I'm glad…" Tears started to gather in her eyes before they rolled down to the sides of her head. "My prayers… My earnest prayers have finally been answered." Her hands that were holding Issei's and Aigis' moved, placing their hands to her chest. They could somehow feel her faint heartbeats as their hands touched her chest. "Thank God… Thank God…" she wheezed slightly, but one could hear gratefulness in her tone. "I finally get to see you two one last time…" She laughed before she coughed.

"A-Asia-chan?" Issei blinked, confused.

"Raynare-san… she took out my Sacred Gear from my body…" Asia spoke. "The… the extraction process would surely kill me…" She smiled again. "Even so, I'm glad…" Her unfocused, teary green eyes looked at both Aigis and Issei, whose hands were held together on her chest. "I'm glad that before I died, I was able to see you two again."

"N-no…" Issei shook his head. "No, stop joking, Asia-chan…" he said in a begging tone. "If this is a joke, it ain't funny!"

"Asia-san… what are you saying?" Aigis asked. "You… you are going to die…?"

Slowly, Asia nodded. "I'm afraid, but still… with you two by my side, everything will be alright…"

"No… please no…" Issei choked back a sob. "Y-you can't be serious… T-this isn't right…" He shook his head, as if in denial. Tears started rolling down his cheeks. "This isn't right at all! P-please…please don't die, Asia-chan!" He begged, crying as he did so.

"Issei-san…" Aigis tried to remain composed, but she was sure that she would break down eventually.

"Don't cry, Issei-san…" Asia spoke softly, letting Issei's hand go as she brought her hand to wipe his tears. "The memories that we made together… the time that we had together… I…"Her cold fingers tenderly stroked Issei's cheek. "I never felt this happy before. I am glad that we could be friends." She closed her eyes, most likely to reminisce the time they shared together. "It was the happiest time in my life…"

Tears unbidden on his face, Issei fished out a green keychain from his pocket and placed it on Asia's hand that was stroking his face. "I-I'll make you the happiest girl in the world, Asia-chan. I swear, I'll make you the happiest girl you can ever be. T-that's why…" He forced himself to grin, despite the tears. "That's why you can't die yet! There are still lotsa things I wanna show you! Let's go to a waterpark sometime! I bet you'll like it there! I bet you'll look pretty in a swimsuit! I'm sure you'll like playing in the water and swimming! I don't mind if you don't know how to swim! I can teach you how!"

Issei closed Asia's hand that was holding the green keychain, holding it together with both of his hands. He lowered his head, letting her knuckle to touch his forehead.

"T-then… I'm gonna introduce you to my buddies! I'm sure you'll like them! Their names are Motohama and Matsuda!" Issei continued. "They're weirdos but it will fun to hang out with them! Once you get to know them, then we can have a party together! We can play games like Twister or Old Maids!" He sobbed. "S-so… p-please don't die… I'm begging you…"

"Issei-san…" Aigis looked at the crying Issei before she looked at Asia. "Asia-san… I know there is something that we can do…" she said. "I will not allow you to die. I… I will find a way. I will make sure of it…" The mechanical maiden found out that her voice was a bit strained, and her vision blurred, for some reason. "So… please hang in there, Asia-san."

Instead of answering, Asia just smiled. Then, she brought up her other hand to Aigis' face. The moment her fingers touched her cheek, the mechanical maiden finally realized that she had been crying the entire time.

"Thank you, you two…" Asia said faintly. "I… I'm really glad to be your friends."

"Asia-san… please…" Aigis begged. "I… I…"

"Asia-chan, no!" Issei cried.

Asia closed her eyes before she let out a soft sigh.

And then... her hands dropped to her sides.

"N-no… no… NO!" Issei shouted. "Why?! Why, Asia-chan, why?!"

"A-Asia-san… no…" Aigis sniffled. "No…" She shook her head.

"DAMMIT! T-this… W-why… Why do you have to die?!" Issei held Asia's lifeless body in an embrace. Then, he looked up and shouted, "God! Why did you take her away?! Dammit! This isn't right at all! She just wanted to be happy! Why did you do this to her?!" He continued shouting to the heavens, mixing prayers with curses.

"I-Issei-san…" Aigis put her hand on Issei's shoulder. "S-stop… just stop…"

"P-please… God, please…" It was ironic for a Devil to pray for God. "Is it because she befriended a Devil like me? D-do you hate her because she's a Devil's friend? If that's your logic, then screw yo-"

Aigis held Issei in a tight hug, stopping him from finishing his words.

"Stop… just stop…" Aigis spoke softly. She didn't bother to wipe away her tears. "This… this isn't what Asia-san would want…"

Aigis held Issei and Asia together in a hug. Issei spoke no more. The only sounds that were heard were his sobbing and sniffing.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of something being cut down. Both Issei and Aigis looked at the direction of the sound and saw a tree falling down, revealing Raynare, whose arm of light didn't seem to look like an arm anymore. It was constantly shifting and rippling, creating countless tendrils that branched out, whipping around as if having minds of their own. There was a fresh gash on her cheek, which slowly faded away in a green glow. Apparently, Asia's Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, had healed her injuries.

"There you are, pests…" Raynare growled, glaring at both Aigis and Issei. Her arm retracted back, shifting back into the shape of an arm. "Do you think you can get away from me?"

"You…" Issei spoke before he let Asia go, placing her body against the tree. Then, he stood up. "You did this to Asia…" There was no hint of hesitation in his sentence. He was stating a fact. He wiped away the last trace of his tears from his face before he glared at the Fallen Angel.

"Hmph." Raynare scowled. "I took her Sacred Gear, so no matter what you do to me, it'll all be for naught. With this new arm and Twilight Healing, you two will stand no chance against me…" She glared at them. "Now, where's that bitch? The one who cut my arm. If you want your deaths to be less painful than what I had promised them to be, you better tell me where she is. Right. Now."

Aigis glared at the Fallen Angel for a few seconds before she stood up, unbuttoning her coat. Then, she tossed it away, revealing her white armored bodice underneath. She held out her right hand. "Harpe." A long-barreled gun with a rectangular casing appeared underneath her arm as she pulled it out from the sea of her soul.

As for Issei, his left arm glowed before his Sacred Gear, Twice Critical, appeared, enveloping his left hand in a crimson, jeweled gauntlet. He was glaring at the Fallen Angel before them as he clenched his gauntleted fist.

"Oh?" There was an amused smirk on Raynare's face. "So you decide to go down fighting, then? Well… I suppose this is better…" Her arm of light exploded into countless tendrils, whipping around and making cracking sounds as they moved. "Now, come and be slaughtered!"

* * *

Vali stopped walking as he looked up, gazing at the night sky. He noticed that the moon was full. He continued gazing up to the sky, his hands in his pockets. The man he was following, Azazel, noticed this and stopped, glancing behind to see the young man.

"What's the matter, Vali?" Azazel asked.

For a few seconds, Vali didn't answer. Then, he said, "The moon is full tonight."

Azazel made a curious look before he looked up to see the moon.

"Yeah. It sure is full tonight. Something on your mind?" Azazel asked.

Vali looked at the man he was accompanying before he sighed.

"It's nothing…" Vali answered before he walked again. Noticing this, Azazel also did the same, walking ahead of the young man.

Vali glanced at the full moon again. There was a mysterious smile on the young man's face.

"It's just that…" Vali spoke softly. "It's a perfect night for a dragon to go on a rampage."

* * *

"Graah!" Issei rushed towards Raynare, aiming to hit her with his gauntleted punch. The Fallen Angel just swiped him away with her arm, which currently took the shape of a massive cluster of tendrils. Due to the Devil's weakness against light, the moment her arm made contact with Issei's body, he screamed in agony as the tendrils of light burned his skin. He was then thrown towards a tree. "Guh!"

"Fire!" Aigis fired a shot of her Harpe, releasing a high-powered bullet that moved in super speed. The sheer force generated by the shot caused some trees around Aigis to be blown away, and the ground where the battle maiden was standing on seemed to crack. The bullet zoomed towards Raynare, and the Fallen Angel quickly changed her arm of light into a shield.

But the sheer force of the impact caused the shield of light to disperse, throwing Raynare off-balance. Seeing this as an opening, Aigis dashed towards the Fallen Angel using her rocket propellers. Using Harpe as an improvised tonfa, the mechanical maiden swung it down onto Raynare.

Unable to move away, Raynare used her other hand to block the attack. She gritted her teeth, hissing in pain as the sheer impact of the hit broke the bones of her left arm. She immediately shifted her arm of light, changing it into an oversized mallet before she slammed it against the android.

The hit managed to send Aigis flying, but she was able to regain her balance midair, landing smoothly on the ground. Her armored bodice was damaged slightly, thanks to the impact from Raynare's arm of light earlier.

Issei managed to get up on his feet, but one could see that he was injured. He limped towards Aigis, clutching his injured shoulder.

As for Raynare, her left arm was ruined, and her bones popped out from her skin. Hissing, she pushed the bones back into her arm before the arm glowed. Slowly, any signs of injuries disappeared. She clenched and unclenched her left fist a few times before she looked at Aigis and Issei, glaring at them.

"Now, why don't you just stay put and be killed?" Raynare asked, her arm of light once again became countless tendrils of light.

"This is bad…" Issei groaned. "What should we do now, Ai-chan? Can you use your Persona stuff or something?"

"I can, but doing so will put extra strain on my psyche and my body," Aigis answered. "I already summoned Scathach, who is still fighting, so summoning one more will be difficult, even for me."

"Urgh, that sucks…" Issei grumbled. "Oh well. There has to be some way…" He looked at Raynare, whose black wings expanded to their full length. Black feathers scattered everywhere as she slowly advanced towards them, the tendrils of light from her arm whipped to and fro.

"Still, I believe this is the only way…" Aigis nodded to herself. She considered summoning Pallas Athena, the one who had cut Raynare's arm days ago. She focused herself, calling for that one particular Persona from the sea of her soul.

**[Call for me instead, Jou-chan. I got an idea.]**

Aigis blinked as she heard that cocky voice. She nodded before she summoned a Persona, and her body was enveloped in an azure light. A figure started materializing itself beside Aigis, and the figure took the shape of a man attired in silver armor, armed with a barbed spear not unlike the one wielded by Pallas Athena. There was a cocky smirk on that handsome visage of his.

"Ergh!" The strain from summoning a second Persona caused her system to overwork itself. She could feel her core, her Plume of Dusk, heating up inside her. Steams started to come out from her mechanical ears, headbands, and the valves around her body. Unlike her predecessor, who could use two Personas at the same time, thanks to Death that was sealed inside him, she was unable to do the same feat without overworking her internal system. It was the same like overheating herself after using Orgia Mode.

Seeing that Aigis seemed to be in pain, Issei immediately went to her side. The man who suddenly showed up, however, insisted, "Don't interrupt her, kid. She needs to concentrate in order to keep me and the other one in this world." He flashed a grin at Issei. "Name's Conell Cernach, by the way. Kid, c'mere."

Issei hesitantly went to Conell Cernach's side.

"Lemme tell you something, kid. You and I are going to fight that chick over there." Conell Cernach pointed at Raynare, who was looking at them, confused by the sudden appearance of the man. "You're gonna use this power of yours while I give you time to prepare. Got it?"

"H-huh? W-wait, what are you talking about? What power?" Issei asked, confused. "You mean, there's something that I still don't know about my Sacred Gear?"

Conell Cernach shrugged. "Who knows? Now, stand back. I'm gonna fight this one, so do what you think is right, kid. I'm gonna buy you some time while I hold her back, so do your best!"

"H-hey, don't just give me some vague advice! My Twice Critical-"

Conell Cernach chuckled. "Now, kid. Don't just compare your weapon to a cheap old trinket. It's more than just that, y'know? Gotta go now. I got a chick to fight!" He leaped forward, priming his spear to attack Raynare.

Now no longer being dazed, Raynare deflected Conell Cernach's attack by using her arm of light. With high-speed, the Irish warrior attacked the Fallen Angel from all directions, pushing her back. Even so, Twilight Healing seemed to heal all the wounds that Conell Cernach had inflicted on her.

"W-what…" Issei looked down at his jeweled gauntlet. He didn't understand what the man told him.

His eyes shifted to look at Asia, whose lifeless body was leaning against a tree. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was peaceful.

_'I want her back.'_

Issei gritted his teeth, lamenting over his weakness. How could he even make a girl happy, if he couldn't even protect Asia?

_'That bitch will pay.'_

Then, he looked at Aigis, who was trying her hardest to maintain Conell Cernach to remain in this world.

_'Ai-chan's… working hard too.'_

He clenched his gauntleted fist. Aigis was working hard for the sake of Asia, too. If he couldn't do the same, then he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

He wanted…

He wanted…

More than anything…

"This…" Issei growled. "This isn't right…" The boy gritted his teeth. He knew he was weak. He knew he was just a mere Pawn.

More than anyone…

"I… I can't accept this…"

For Issei Hyoudou, who was weak and powerless, he desired nothing but…

…power.

A Sacred Gear is driven with the power of desire. He still remembered what Buchou had told him the other day regarding Sacred Gears. Even after being reincarnated into a Devil, his human nature still remained, and so did his desires.

And so, Issei Hyoudou desired to change the fact that he was weak, that he was powerless. If he was weak, then there would be nothing he could do for Asia and Aigis. For him who wanted Asia back, and for him who wanted to help Aigis, he desired power.

And power came to him.

[Dragon Booster!]

As if responding to his desire for power, his Sacred Gear made a sound. The emerald jewel embedded on the crimson gauntlet glowed brighter. And he felt it. He felt power coursing through his entire body.

Still, it was not enough.

He desired more power, so the power of this level was not enough.

Conell Cernach continued stalling Raynare. Every wound he inflicted on the Fallen Angel's body was healed by Twilight Healing that she stole from Asia.

_'She will pay for doing this to Asia.'_

[Boost!]

More power. He could feel more power. He felt like laughing right now. Even so, it's still not enough. He needed more. He needed more power.

[Boost!]

He looked down at his Sacred Gear. His fingers were no longer human-like, but instead, they were shaped like claws, sharp and jagged. The emerald jewel glowed brighter and brighter. There was something etched on the back of the gauntlet, but he cared nothing of it. He just wanted more power.

_'Not enough. More.'_

[Boost!]

_'Not enough. More!'_

[Boost!]

_'More!'_

[Boost!]

_'More, dammit!'_

[Boost!]

He didn't know how long had passed, and he cared little for that. He had power now. Raynare was still battling Conell Cernach, but the Fallen Angel seemed to notice something was wrong, as she detected a wave of demonic power from Issei.

Clenching his clawed hand into a fist, Issei breathed out. Green vapor seemingly escaped from his mouth as he did so.

"He's-" Raynare gasped before she jumped away from Conell Cernach, getting away from him so that he could focus on Issei. "I don't know what you're up to, but there's no way I can allow that!"

Meanwhile, Conell Cernach smirked.

"She's all yours, kid."

With a yell, Raynare sent an attack towards the boy who was standing still by elongating her arm of light. Shaping it into a serrated spear of light, the arm zoomed towards Issei, and she aimed to pierce his chest to kill him instantly.

And he caught it with his gauntleted arm.

Blinking several times, Raynare was befuddled when Issei managed to catch her attack. "What the hell-"

Wordlessly, Issei tightened his grip on the arm of light, crushing it. Raynare immediately retracted her arm, and it dispersed for a few seconds before it reverted back into the shape of an arm. Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing such a thing happening before her eyes.

"You… will pay…" Issei growled as he threw a glare at the Fallen Angel. "You will pay…" His voice was hoarse and guttural as he spoke.

Raynare was taken aback as she saw Issei's eyes. When the boy glared at her, she saw a pair of glowing emerald eyes, and she swore that they might have been slit in the middle of each pupil. It felt wrong. Too wrong. How could a person have such eyes? Those eyes were too ophidian to be human, or in Issei's case, former human.

In a flash, she could see it. A nightmare given form. A gargantuan figure with a scaly, crimson hide; reptilian by nature. A majestic creature. Issei was still there, but the nightmarish image of such a majestic creature stuck inside her mind, permanently burned inside her memory. She instinctively took a step back as she came to know fear.

"Get ready, Raynare…" Issei spoke, his voice sounded calm. A pair of bat-like pinions exploded out of his back, and he expanded them to their full length. "This is going to hurt."

[Explosion!]

Propelling himself forward with his Devil wings, Issei zoomed towards the Fallen Angel, his gauntleted fist clenched. In less than two seconds, the boy was already in front of her, and before Raynare could even react to it, Issei landed a punch just below her chin, giving her an uppercut.

"That is for Asia!" Issei bellowed.

"Gkh! Don't underestimate me, you pest!" Raynare screamed before she attacked Issei using her arm of light, this time shaping it into a lance. She had ascended a few meters into the air as she launched the attack.

Much to her surprise, Issei caught the lance with his gauntleted hand. Not too far from them, Conell Cernach was cackling.

"This is it! This is what I was talking about!" He cackled with glee upon seeing what had transpired before his eyes. "Show her, kid! Let your roar fill the heavens! Let your rampage shake the earth! Show her the true power of the Crimson Emperor!"

Issei pulled the lance down, and along with it, Raynare.

"And this is for all the troubles you caused for me and Ai-chan!" Issei shouted as he pulled the Fallen Angel down, and when Raynare got closer to him, he slammed his forehead against Raynare's.

"Grkh!" The sheer force from the impact of Issei's head being slammed against hers shook her greatly, shortly making her see stars. She could barely land on her feet, staggering back a few steps. As she tried to regain her balance, she looked at the gauntlet that Issei wore, and the green glow the jeweled gauntlet emanated.

This was impossible! There's no way a Twice Critical could do that to its user!

"T-that… How can a Twice Critical… generate such tremendous power?!" Raynare exclaimed in disbelief.

Conell Cernach, who was watching the battle, chuckled as he leaned himself against a tree.

"Twice Critical? Pfft, don't make me laugh," the Irish warrior spoke. "That is not your regular Sacred Gear, lady." There was an amused smirk on that handsome face of his. "Welp, you gotta watch out for that one."

"Huh?"

"And this is for you killing me!"

With a loud yell, Issei slammed his fist against Raynare's face. The punch was enough to send the Fallen Angel flying, and the sheer force of the punch managed to make her break through several trees as she was sent flying before finally stopping. When she finally dropped to the ground, her arm of light sizzled out before it vanished, leaving only a stump of her arm.

Unclenching his gauntleted fist, with the green glow slowly fading, Issei lowered his hand. There was no look of triumph on his face as he defeated the Fallen Angel. There was nothing to celebrate since he failed to protect Asia.

Aigis, with a strained expression on her face, fell to her knees. Sparks could be seen on the robotic parts of her body, indicating that she had overworked her system past its limit. Issei looked at Aigis and immediately rushed to her side.

"Ai-chan!" Issei shouted, concerned. "Y-you alright? D-don't tell me-"

Aigis smiled, despite the strain, shaking her head. "No, there is no need to worry. The strain from summoning two Personas at the same time had put quite a pressure to my core. But I will be alright once I am done cooling myself down."

"R-right…" Issei nodded. At least Aigis wasn't in any significant danger. Then, they heard the sounds of something being dragged before they saw Conell Cernach, resting his spear over his right shoulder while using his left hand to drag the prone form of Raynare, who was unconscious.

"Kid… you did a pretty good job, y'know?" Conell Cernach said, grinning as he tossed the unconscious Fallen Angel to the ground. "Granted, it's a lot weaker than I used to remember, but the feeling, it's unmistakable."

"What do you mean?" Aigis asked her Persona.

"Jou-chan, the kid here possesses no ordinary Sacred Gear…" Conell Cernach said to Aigis. "Boosted Gear, one of the rarest Sacred Gears out there, one of the Longinus. The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet." He eyed the crimson gauntlet the boy wore in his left arm. "Ah, the memory…" He sighed in a rather nostalgic tone. "It is capable of doubling the power of its possessor every ten seconds. If given enough time, the kid here can even achieve power beyond that of a High-Class Devil. Heck, it can even allow him to kill God if the kid manages to master it."

"A Sacred Gear… that is capable of killing God?" Issei looked at his jeweled gauntlet, eyes widened.

"Train harder, kid. I got a feeling you're gonna go beyond the past possessors of the Boosted Gear, y'see?" The Irish warrior cackled. "Oh well. Only time will tell. See ya." And so, he disappeared.

"That is… incredible…" Aigis said, looking at Issei's Sacred Gear. "Such an amazing power…"

Issei wordlessly looked at his Sacred Gear. A while later, they heard more sounds of something being dragged towards them. Scathach eventually came into view, dragging three prone forms of unconscious Fallen Angels. It seemed that although it took her a while (or probably she was just toying with them), all these three Fallen Angels were soundly and definitely beaten. Dohnaseek got his entire face swollen. Mittelt was also the same. As for Kalawarner, her clothes were ripped apart.

Scathach seemed to have a pleased expression on her face. That expression on her face seemed to have something to do with Kalawarner's state of disrobe.

"Well, here we are, dear." Scathach tossed all three Fallen Angels near Raynare. "The guy and the kid didn't last long, but the woman was passable." She licked her lips in a rather sensual way. "Ah, it's been a while since the last time I got other people to learn the friendship of my thighs."

"F-friendship… of thighs?" Issei blinked.

"It is better if you know nothing of it, Issei-san…" Aigis spoke to the boy. "Scathach, why didn't you just destroy them?"

"Me? Nah, it's not my way." Scathach shrugged. "I'm no Athena, you see? After all, it is your decision to deal your judgment to them." She smiled at the mechanical maiden. "I am you, and you are me, but you don't want you as Scathach to deliver the judgment, but you as Aigis, right?"

Then, Scathach noticed the lifeless form of Asia, leaning against the tree. Her expression changed.

"I'm sorry…" Aigis spoke softly. "I…"

"Say no more, dear…" Scathach said, smiling at Aigis. "It's okay. While there's no wonder I felt disconnected earlier, I don't blame you. Don't blame yourself, dear. If you do that, it will hurt you more."

"B-but… but after everything that has happened to me, after everything that I learned from my previous journey, I…" Aigis said, her voice cracking. "I learned many things! I grew stronger! I understood more about this world and everything around me! And yet…" Aigis looked down. "W-why… why can't I protect something that is so precious to me? I swore to myself that I will protect those that I cherish greatly, and yet… why can't I protect Asia-san?! How can I be so powerless?!"

Aigis shook her head. She knew that she was never powerless. She had grown stronger, stronger than what she could have imagined years ago. But, there was more than just being stronger, and she knew it.

"Asia-san… she told me my name is beautiful…" Aigis continued. "I was so happy. She seemed happy too. I… I wanted to protect the happy smile she showed me at that time. A-and yet… I… I…"

Scathach walked over to Aigis, kneeled in front of her and leaned to kiss her on her forehead.

"There are times when there are things that are outside our capability to handle, dear…" Scathach spoke soothingly. "We will feel useless. We will feel how worthless we are. But don't let it stop you. We may fall, and there are times when we fall harder. The fall will hurt us, but don't be afraid to get up back. Wasn't that your motto before? When we fall, get right back up? That way, by picking ourselves back up, no matter how many times we fall, we can learn more." Scathach pinched Aigis' cheek. "Consider this a lesson for you, dear. Don't let anything put you down. It is alright to cry. It is alright be saddened. But don't let your sadness keep you from standing up."

Her glowing, hearth-like eyes were gazing tenderly into Aigis'. Slowly, Aigis nodded.

There was no wonder Scathach was considered the great teacher.

And then, Scathach dissolved into motes of blue light. A while later, they heard people coming. They were Kiba and Koneko.

"Kiba? Koneko-chan?" Issei blinked.

"Well, it took us a while, and we almost got ourselves overwhelmed by the exorcists, but Buchou and Akeno-san showed up and annihilated them all." Kiba then noticed the somber atmosphere before he looked at the lifeless form of Asia. "Ah…" He lowered his head. Koneko also realized what happened and did the same.

Then, Rias and Akeno showed up. Like Kiba and Koneko, they also noticed the heavy atmosphere. The crimson-haired Devil then noticed the unconscious Fallen Angels on the ground. She knew that it was them who were responsible for all this.

In a normal situation, she might have already stepped forward to eliminate all these Fallen Angels, but here, there was another who demanded retribution. Her eyes focused on Aigis, who then stood up and walked over towards the direction of the Fallen Angels.

Because of them, Asia was…

Closing her eyes, her body was wreathed in an azure light before a mechanical-like creature emerged from the sea of her soul.

She hated this feeling, this ugly feeling. She had promised to herself to live her life as a protector, the one who would protect those who were saved by _his_ sacrifice. And yet, the ugly feeling inside her urged her to do the opposite. It wanted her to not protect, but to destroy.

She wanted them to _burn_.

"Orpheus."

The white-haired man, the ultimate poet, the master of strings, hovered above the mechanical maiden, his ruby eyes focused on the prone forms of the Fallen Angels on the ground. All the Devils, sans Issei, stiffened upon seeing the Persona, remembering the time when he incinerated the stray Devil, Gremda, with fire many days ago. It seemed that once again, they would see bodies being stripped to skeletons before scattering into ashes.

Orpheus' eyes glowed as Aigis made a mental order to him, but a voice immediately stopped her.

"Stop it right there."

A calm voice spoke. It was filled with authority like no other. All of them looked behind and saw a dark-haired man with golden bangs, crossing his arms while looking at them. Six pairs of jet-black wings were seen on his back. Behind him was a young man with silver hair.

The Devils, especially Rias and Akeno, tensed when they saw the man.

"Y-you're that guy!" Issei exclaimed, recalling the time when he met the man, the man he thought was just a random man who enjoyed fishing.

"Ah, good. Let's not, well… start a fight here, shall we?" The man spoke. Based on the black wings on his back, it could be said that he was also a Fallen Angel, like Raynare and the others, and judging from the number of wings he had, he wasn't an ordinary one either.

Aigis could feel it. His entire frame radiated power and wisdom. His violet eyes seemed to tell how ancient the man was. Orpheus dissolved into blue particles as she looked at the man.

"Governor General of the Fallen Angels, Azazel…" Rias spoke.

The man called Azazel smiled. "Ah, yes, that would be me. And I must say it is a pleasure to meet you," he said. "Well, I'd love to chat some more, and yet there is something I'd like to do first." He looked at the unconscious Fallen Angels on the ground. "I guess I need to bail them out. They're my underlings, see?"

"Y-you… you ordered them to do this?!" Issei asked in an outraged tone, glaring at Azazel.

Sighing, Azazel scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I never told them to kill any one of you. Just observe. But I guess they kind of misinterpreted my words." He sighed again. "I would like to intervene, but I thought things will get much messier if we get involved." He glanced at the young man behind him, who then rolled his eyes. "Yep, much messier, indeed. That's why we decided to rely on all of you instead."

"Rely?" Rias frowned. Then, she seemed to realize something. "So… the anonymous message we got about Issei earlier…" She eyed the Governor General of the Fallen Angels. "It was from you, no?"

"Yes…" Azazel nodded. "I'd say I did that so no one would die, but…" He glanced at Asia. "It seems I horribly miscalculated. I was so focused on these four, I overlooked her and the rest of the exorcists." He look down, regret sounded evident in his tone. "So, I would like to apologize for everything that my subordinates had done to you until this point." He bowed. "I will make sure that they will be punished… accordingly."

Looking at Azazel warily, Rias spoke, "And how much can we trust your words?"

Azazel closed his eyes for a moment before he reopened them. "I suppose there is nothing that can back up my words, but…" The Governor General smiled blandly. "After everything that happened tonight, I'd like to keep these four alive. No more deaths."

"She killed Asia-san… She even killed Issei-san not very long ago..." Aigis spoke, her voice sounded a little harsh.

"And you wish to kill Raynare to make things even?" Azazel asked, and the mechanical maiden flinched. "No, I didn't say I'll deny your desire for vengeance, little lady, but… let's just say enough is enough? From your look alone, I can tell you don't want to do this either."

"You…!" Issei growled, stepping forward, but Aigis stopped him, holding out her arm.

"Aigis-san?" Rias looked at the mechanical maiden worriedly.

"This is unfair…" Aigis muttered. "Asia-san wanted to live more… She wanted to be happy, and yet…" Then, she looked at Azazel. "Azazel-san, what will you do to them? What will you do to your subordinates?"

"Like I said, they will be punished accordingly," Azazel answered Aigis' question. "They will learn the consequences of their actions, and I will make sure that they will always remember it. Especially Raynare." He smiled sadly. "This child is truly an unruly one, and as her superior, I wish that you can find it in your heart to look past it and put it behind you."

Aigis looked at Azazel, blinking. That was quite a demand. Not only that she could gain nothing out of it, she also disliked the idea of letting the one who killed two people she considered her friends free, even if she would get herself punished. What would she do? Should she just let her go? Or would she disagree?

What would he do in this situation?

"Just…" Aigis spoke. "Just go." Her tone was soft. "I will trust you to make sure this kind of situation will never happen again. But…" She clenched her fists. "Please let it be known that I am not happy with this."

If one thought about it, there would be no heavy consequences for the relationship between factions if she disagreed, due to the fact that she was an outsider who had nothing to do with the affair among all the factions. But she also knew that it would bring more complications to herself and to those who were close to her, especially if she were to declare herself an enemy to one of the three biblical factions, considering that the Governor General of the Fallen Angels had personally showed up.

Azazel smiled. "Thank you. And yes, I'll keep my word." He looked at the young man who was by his side. "Vali, will you please…"

The young man Azazel called Vali just sighed before he went over the unconscious Fallen Angels and grabbed them by the scruffs of their collars to drag them with him.

"Farewell," Azazel said before he walked away, with Vali following him behind, dragging four unconscious Fallen Angels with him, leaving Aigis and the rest of the Devils in the middle of the forest.

"W-what… just happened?" Rias asked, dumbfounded. "Aigis-san?"

Aigis remained silent as she went back to where Asia was. Issei also was by the nun's side, his expression somber.

Akeno, who was standing by Rias, spoke to her, "Rias, this…"

Rias sighed and closed her eyes. Many things had happened in one single day. She wished that things could just get simpler. She reopened her eyes, eyeing both Issei and Aigis, who were sitting by Asia's sides, their looks appearing mournful. Her hand dug into her pocket, fishing out a small item, a chess piece, red in color.

A Bishop.

"I probably have just the thing…"

* * *

"So, what are you going to do with these idiots?" Vali asked, dragging all the four Fallen Angels with him. One of them, Raynare, seemed to have regained consciousness and groaned in pain as the young man dragged her roughly like a heavy sack of wheat.

"Punish them, obviously…" Azazel shrugged.

"Are you going to seal them into Cocytus?" Vali asked, curious. Raynare's eyes widened.

"C-Cocytus?! No!" Raynare cried. "P-please, Azazel-sama! Anything but that!" She then let out a pained cry when Vali roughly tugged the scruff of her collar.

Azazel just snickered. "Nah, I won't seal all of you into Cocytus. Cocytus is just too much, and technically, you were still following my orders, even if you kind of horribly misinterpreted my words. Then again, punishment is still in order, and I'm thinking about using that one contraption that I developed not too long ago." There was a devious smirk on the Governor General's face. "It would be fitting for your punishment."

In a flat tone, Vali commented, "You are the most despicable being in the whole world, Azazel. Using that stupid thing to punish these idiots, that is just so cruel of you, even by my standards."

Azazel laughed. "Well, I haven't tested it yet, so I suppose this will be my chance…" He glanced at Raynare. "And I hope you like maid uniforms, Raynare. Hehehe…"

Whatever the punishment that Azazel wanted to give them all and whatever he tried to imply, Raynare had a strong feeling that she would rather choose Cocytus over what Azazel had in mind.

* * *

Asia's eyelids fluttered open.

A while ago, she felt nothing but coldness and saw nothing but pitch blackness.

But it was no longer the case, as warmth returned to her body and colors started to fill her vision.

"Asia-chan!" She then found herself being embraced by a warm hug, with a pair of arms wrapped around her body. It was Issei. "You're alive!" When Asia was able to take a good look on his face, he was smiling, happy tears streamed unbidden down his cheeks.

Then, another pair of arms wrapped around them. Strong, yet gentle arms. Asia saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes, filled with tears, the tears which then rolled down the cheeks of a beautiful visage. "Welcome back, Asia-san…" A gentle voice filled her auditory sense, soothing and filled with warmth.

"Issei-san…" Asia spoke. "Ai-san…" There was confusion on her face as both Issei and Aigis hugged her together. Near them, Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko were watching them, smiles on their faces.

A while ago, Rias used one of her Evil Pieces, a Bishop, to revive Asia, resurrecting her into a Devil.

She had been deprived of her Sacred Gear, and yet Rias still revived her. Akeno glanced at the crimson-haired Devil, giving her a questioning look.

Rias closed her eyes, as if not wanting to ruin this moment. Akeno just sighed and smiled before she continued to look at the three, who were putting each other into one big hug, shedding happy tears as they did so.

"Let's go home, shall we?" Issei said.

"Yes. Go home, together…" Aigis nodded, smiling.

Nodding, Asia smiled. She was still a bit confused, but she didn't care at the moment.

"Yes!"

Clutched against her chest was a green keychain, the reminder of the memories that they made together.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, it's me, Prince Arjuna. This is it, the final chapter of the first arc. Like what I told you guys before, this chapter focuses more on Issei and his power. And if you guys are wondering about Raynare's arm, it's actually made of light, just like her spear. To imagine how it looks, just picture Seras Victoria's shadowy arm (her ultimate form, okay?), but instead of shadow, Raynare's arm is made of light. And I'd like to tell you guys that there is no evidence telling us that the reason why the Personas are sentient due to the World/Universe Arcana. And Aigis' Personas are not the same as the originals because unlike their original counterparts, the Personas are just the manifestations of Aigis' other self. Let's just say, Athena is Aigis, whose personality of Aigis is removed and replaced by Athena's personality and memories (and given an appropriate appearance as Athena too). So, despite retaining all of Athena's powers, personality and memories, Athena is still, in a way, Aigis. I hope that will clear things up, because it will be brought up in future chapters.

And thank you for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It is nice working alongside you.

Don't forget to leave some reviews, by the way. In order to keep the author from intellectual starvation, it is essential for him to be given reviews. The next chapter will mark the start of the new arc, which is P3-centric. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 11: Heart Songs.**

**What I have planned:** Nothing to say here. Maybe next chapter?

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	11. Heart Song

_I found myself in an unfamiliar place. The floor seemed to be made of mirror, or was it water? The blue, cloudless sky seemed to be stretching to the endless horizon, and after a while, I found out that I wasn't alone._

_Standing a few meters away from me was a young man, attired in clothes that I could identify as a school uniform. Both his hands were stuffed inside his pockets, and he seemed to be slouching. One of his steely grey eyes was covered by his blue hair, which made me wonder whether he could see properly with one of his eyes covered by his hair or not._

_Truly, that wasn't really my main concern here as I studied his face. From what I could see, the young man's physical age might be around sixteen or seventeen-years-old, and yet from one of his grey eyes, the one that was unhidden by his bang, I could tell that he had seen more than what an ordinary seventeen-year-old youth could ever behold in his whole life._

_Unconsciously, I took a step forward. Then, another._

_I didn't know why I did this. Even as I tried to resist this strange feeling in my chest, I took another step forward._

_I brought one of my hands to my chest, trying to discern this feeling of mine I was experiencing. I had no idea what this feeling was, but it was not entirely unpleasant. If anything, this strange feeling of mine brought comfort and warmth in my heart._

_I focused on the blue-haired young man before me. I did not know him, which made it even stranger for me to have such a feeling as it urged me to approach him. I took a few more steps before I opened my mouth, trying to say something._

_Two words._

_Yet, no sound came out. I didn't know why. Surprisingly enough, I could feel mild frustration from this. Probably I needed to say something important to him, yet I was unable to form them into words. I could tell that I was scowling._

_Then, the blue-haired youth smiled as he approached me before he brought up his hand and touched my head. I blinked, unable to comprehend what was going on. He was standing right in front of me, his hand patting my head. It was kind of embarrassing, to be honest. Even so, I could feel the warmth of his palm touching my head, and I could get a good view of his feature, and I could see his kind smile on his face._

_It was…_

_…a beautiful smile._

_As his hand continued to touch my head, I couldn't help but wonder if _she_ learned to smile like that from him? From what I could see here, it was probably true._

"Who are you?"_ I asked. It was strange. Earlier, I tried to say those two words to him, but no sounds came out of my mouth. But then, I managed to ask him this question. I blinked in confusion, while the boy just looked at me with one eyebrow raised before he smiled._

_And he told me his name. I repeated his name several times, trying to make myself familiar with his name. The boy chuckled when he saw my attempts to familiarize myself with his name. I pouted. What was so funny with me trying to say his name, anyways?_

_Then, he told me to sit down. So, I sat down, and the boy sat beside me. We said nothing. I didn't know how long we kept on sitting in silence, but whenever I tried to say something to him, he looked at me and smiled._

_I felt something strange. I didn't know why, but seeing his smile made me feel warm._

"Want to hold hands?"_ Suddenly, he said before he held out his hand. I blinked several times as I looked at his hand that was held out to me._

_After a few moments, I nodded before I reached out for his hand. The hand was a little cold, but the touch strangely felt warm. So, we remained sitting on the reflective floor without saying anything as we held each other's hand. I didn't know how long had passed before my vision started turning dark._

"I will see you once again,"_ the boy said before everything turned into pitch blackness._

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 11: Heart Song**

"Thanks for inviting me for tea, Senpai," a young woman with light-brown hair said, setting down a teacup on a saucer, as she looked at another woman opposite her. "To tell you the truth, this is what I need after what I went through last week…" the young woman let out a heavy sigh.

The other woman, a red-haired one, looked at the brunette sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that, Yukari," she said after taking a sip of her tea. "Even so, I'm glad that you went through such an incident without any lasting harm." She set down her teacup. "Even so, that was quite a surprise for all of us. Apparently, the world of supernatural is vaster than what we could possibly imagine, and the Shadows are not the only things we should focus on these days…"

The brunette, Yukari, nodded as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Yep, you can say that again, Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari sighed. "It's still kinda scary, when I think about that again. We were preparing to shoot a scene at the setting when those scary people showed up." The young woman closed her eyes, visibly shuddering as she recalled the incident they were discussing about. "I mean, seriously? Vampires? Why didn't I see that one coming?"

"Considering that Aigis also had her own encounter with other supernatural entities other than Shadows, encountering vampires doesn't seem to be too far-fetched, I suppose," Mitsuru said. "Luckily, we already have all the vampires who assaulted you and your colleagues and people who were put under their thralls contained safely. Having them roaming around freely doesn't sit too well for me. And to think that there are more of them out there…" Mitsuru closed her eyes, shaking her head.

Apparently, Yukari had some kind of encounter with supernatural entities when she was at work. And the supernatural entities in question happened to be vampires. Although the incident had been resolved, the encounter seemed to leave some sort of impression in the young actress.

"Regardless, I'm glad that you made it out safely, Yukari. I mean, you single-handedly defeated and subdued all the vampires before any sort of reinforcement arrived. And you also did it without even manifesting your Persona, which is very impressive," Mitsuru said, nodding, as if praising the other woman. Yukari blushed, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "I heard you used your prop weapon and, umm… a pack of dried onions?" The red-haired woman blinked a few times, as if unsure whether she said the right thing or not.

Yukari nodded. "It happened that I bought dried onions for the night's dinner before I went to the setting. I never thought it would come in handy in that kind of situation, to be honest."

Mitsuru smiled. "Even so, your actions are very commendable, Yukari. You protected your colleagues all by yourself and defeated all those, umm… vampires, without even using your powers." She nodded, folding her arms under her chest. "While Personas are not exactly intended to be put into secrecy, keeping them hidden can surely help us, Shadow Operatives, to carry out our missions, as well as avoid mass panic from the public."

Yukari scratched the back of her head, smiling wryly. "Well, I'm sure if it were you, you might have done the same as me," a pause, before the brunette continued, "Only with executions, though. Lots and lots of executions. I doubt the vampires can even withstand your executions."

The red-haired woman nodded a few times, seemingly pleased. "You know me well, Yukari."

Yukari puffed out her chest proudly. "Of course. I'm your best friend, after all."

Chuckling, Mitsuru tilted her head. Now it was time to tease her best friend. "Between me and Aigis, which one is your number one best friend?"

"Heh, of course-" Yukari stopped. At first, she thought it was an easy question to answer. But then, she realized that she had to choose between Mitsuru and Aigis. She considered both Mitsuru and Aigis to be her best friends, but from Mitsuru's question, it seemed that she had to put one before the other. "Umm… t-that's…" The brunette young woman was flustered.

Mitsuru covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best not to laugh.

Upon realizing Mitsuru's intention, Yukari pouted. "It's not fair! You're a cheater, Senpai!"

Still suppressing her urge to laugh, with little success, Mitsuru looked at Yukari. "Sorry, sorry… I just can't help it. That's all. It's been a while since the last time I teased you, Yukari." There was a warm smile on the red-haired woman's face. "I was busy, so I didn't have much time to spend with you. So, you probably don't mind if I tease you whenever we meet, right?"

Sighing, Yukari smiled. "Geez." She scratched her cheek, as if in embarrassment. "W-well, about your question earlier… I guess both of you are my best friends. There's no rule that says that I need only one best friend, right?"

"I suppose you are right, Yukari." Mitsuru nodded.

"Though I won't be able to spend much time with my other best friend, considering that a certain someone sent her away for a long mission," Yukari eyed Mitsuru mischievously as she said this. "I hope she'll be alright. Aigis, I mean."

"Considering who she is, I know she will be fine," Mitsuru said. "She is the strongest of us among the Shadow Operatives, and I even thought about making her as my successor once I step down from my position as Shadow Operative Number 1. She still has more to learn, but I am sure that her leadership ability and charisma will make her a suitable replacement for me." Mitsuru looked down to her cup of tea.

"Even though she is… you know, right?" Yukari said.

"Her body may consist of metal bits and wires, but she has a heart of a human," Mitsuru spoke. "And I believe she, in a way, personifies what is good in humanity. Something that we have sworn to protect, something we have promised to live for…" There was a sad smile on the red-haired woman's face, as if recalling a certain someone who was out of her reach. "In order to lessen the burden of a certain boy, I promised to myself to live my life as best as I can, and at the same time, protecting humanity, from either the outside threats or from itself. And Aigis is the symbol of the promise I made. That's what I believe…"

Yukari studied Mitsuru's face before she nodded slowly. "You know, I believe the same thing too. I probably had told you this before, but at that time…" Her expression changed, her brown eyes filled with sorrow. "When all of us lost him, I was overcome by grief. I desired nothing but to see him once again no matter what, and I was blind to anything else. And then, when I came back to my senses, thanks to Aigis lodging a bullet into my kneecap, by the way," Yukari smiled self-depreciatively, "I realized how much I had hurt Aigis, with my words and my actions. I wasn't the only one who was affected by his death, and from what I could tell, the pain she experienced might be greater than mine. I… I was so ashamed of myself because in my desperation to see him once again, I broke a dear friend's heart. So, after learning the truth behind his sacrifice, I made up my mind that I will live my life as best as I can, and do whatever I can in order to make him suffer less. And to make sure that none of us, either me or Aigis, suffer the same pain ever again."

"Yes, that is right. That is a good resolve to have." Mitsuru nodded. "While we may not be able to see the results of what we do in our lifetime, at least we can bring forth changes, however small they are."

"Living is a continuous process of changing. I know that," Yukari said, nodding as well. "As long as we are still willing to change, preferably for the better, I guess we're off to a good start."

Both the women giggled. Then, they talked about some other things. Mostly trivial things, but then, Yukari brought up the topic about a certain android girl.

"Speaking of Aigis, I'm kinda worried about her, actually," Yukari admitted. "I mean, she's a total workaholic and worse than you, no offense."

"None taken."

"She's too focused on her job as a Shadow Operative. Sometimes, that attitude of hers bothers me. She's decided to fight for the sake of others, but at the same time, she ignores her need for her own happiness. And whenever I asked her about that, she'd tell me that Minato-kun will do the same things too." Yukari sighed. "It feels like everything she does boils down to 'What will Minato-san do?' It's kind of frustrating, you know?"

Mitsuru already knew that. And she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it. In a way, that certain boy was the reason behind the miracle of 'the machine with a heart'. "He's someone who is precious to her, more than what we can imagine. And I know that she will keep holding onto her feelings," she looked down, smiling sadly, "even until the end of time. That resolve that she has… we can't possibly imagine to have such a resolve."

"I know…" Yukari nodded weakly. "Even so, it's still kinda sad, don't you think? If she still keeps holding onto her feelings of him, it'll be painful for her." The brunette woman brought up her hand to her chest. "I don't mean she has to forget about him or anything like that, it's just… there has to be time for her to let her feelings go, right?" She sighed softly. "Aigis can be stubborn sometimes, right? I always told her to pursue her own happiness, but then, she said she would be alright as long as she could protect everyone."

Mitsuru kept on listening as Yukari continued.

"She wants to dedicate herself to protect those who need protection. I'm glad that she has such a noble goal, but then, what about herself? Will she always be happy if protecting everyone is the only thing she does? Geez, she needs to learn how to be selfish sometimes, you see? Being so selfless all the time is a little unhealthy, right?" Yukari sighed after saying that. "And… I don't want her to be hurt. Aigis… she's a precious person to me, and I love her…"

Mitsuru tilted her head before her lips curled up into a smile. "My, that sounds like the position of Yukari Takeba's 'best' best friend is taken by Aigis, with me being a first runner-up." She brought up her hand to her cheek, making a (fake) pouting face. "I'm so jealous…"

Yukari's cheeks reddened. "S-Senpai, s-stop teasing me, will you?!"

Mitsuru chuckled. "Well, not that I really mind." She then reached out to her teacup and took a sip. "By the way, there is something I wish to show you, Yukari."

"Hmm?" Yukari blinked a few times when the topic was suddenly changed. "What is it, Senpai? Is it something important?"

For a few moments, Mitsuru was silent before she nodded. "Yes. After a few recent events which involve Aigis' mission and the existence of other supernatural existence other than the Shadows, I made a little research in our old archive, and I found something." She brought up her hand to her chin, as if thinking for a while. "I believe this matter requires a considerable amount of secrecy, and a balcony isn't exactly a right place for us to discuss this matter."

Yukari's expression tightened. Now she understood why she was invited by Mitsuru to have some tea at Mitsuru's private villa. It was because there was something important to discuss as the members of Shadow Operatives. "Is that so?" Yukari said. "Okay, I think I get it."

"Très bien…" Mitsuru smiled before she got up from her seat. "Very well. Let's get inside. I hope you are prepared, Yukari."

Nodding, Yukari got up from her seat before both women entered the villa. As they walked down the hallway, they were escorted by a few maids, and she recognized one of the maids. Her short, indigo-colored hair was tied up into twin-tails and she was wearing a maid's bonnet. She was wearing a stylized maid uniform, which made her stand out compared to the other maids who were escorting them.

"It's been a while, Yukari-san…" the maid spoke to Yukari.

"Kikuno-san?" Yukari blinked. Like Yukari and Mitsuru, the maid, Kikuno Saikawa, is also a Shadow Operative, but unlike them, she was not a Persona-user, but instead, a person who could enter Dark Hour without being affected by it or turned into a coffin.

"Yes, it is me." Kikuno nodded. Smiling, she spoke, "I sure hope the bow that we had given to you had served its purpose…"

"W-well, yeah… I guess so…" Yukari said uncertainly.

Mitsuru coughed, getting their attention as they continued to walk down the hallway. They were going somewhere, and it seemed that it would be somewhere which could provide them adequate privacy from the outer world.

* * *

"Hmm…" Rias Gremory hummed to herself as she read all the documents that she had obtained from her research about a certain android named Aigis. She had used a lot of means of obtaining information, including asking for help from her fellow High-Class Devil, Sona Sitri. Sona still reminded her that both of them were still rivals, though. As a result, she managed to gain quite a few information that could shed a light regarding the true nature of the self-proclaimed Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon.

While most of them were not entirely detailed, and there were some of them that were carefully hidden. The Devil somehow gained the right idea about what she had been researching thus far. First, she obtained the documents regarding the mysterious powers called 'Persona'. Like the others, they were also not entirely detailed, but from what she could see, the contents of the documents seemed to match with Aigis' explanation regarding the power of Personas, or as both sources would say, the power to manifest one's other self.

She also gained something else related to Persona. It was more like a thesis than anything else, explaining about the research and theory on artificially creating Persona-users, written by someone called Takahisa Kandori. Rias raised one of her eyebrows as she skimmed through the thesis. Sighing, Rias set the thesis and the other documents regarding the power of Persona aside. She would look into them in the future, but there was one piece of information that she prioritized.

Next were a few documents, as well as a few newspaper clippings which were about the Kirijo Group. Rias remembered that Aigis came to Kuoh Academy with a pseudonym, Ai Kirijo. Because of the information of Persona-users, Aigis and the Kirijo Group seemed to be tied together. Rias thought that she was about to learn the truth regarding Aigis' true allegiance and the faction she belonged to. Even if she wasn't part of the three biblical factions, she might belong to some hidden magician's cabal or small factions that had been involved in supernatural world.

From what she could learn from the documents and the newspaper clippings, the Kirijo Group is a multinational company that had been globally operating for quite a long time in the human world. It was said that the company seemed to be involved with almost every aspect of daily life in the human world and finding someone who didn't know the Kirijo Group among the humans would be virtually impossible. Originally a part of the Nanjo Group, the Kirijo Group later separated from them, but still retained a close working relationship with the Nanjo Group. There were a few names recorded in the documents, and Rias assumed that those names belonged to the leaders of the company.

The current leader of the company was a woman named Mitsuru Kirijo. There were a few photos of her as well as newspaper clipping depicting the woman. For a human, this Mitsuru Kirijo seemed to radiate authority and charisma that almost rivaled the High-Class Devil's.

And from some other documents, the Kirijo Group also backed an unofficial section of National Police Agency of Japan, and the section was named Security Department, Shadow Response Unit, but was more commonly referred to as 'Shadow Operatives'. This particular section was shrouded in mystery, but there were some cases of which this particular section had been involved with. There were not many information regarding this, but Rias found something that she had been seeking for.

A few months ago, there was a case of an aircraft hijacking, and the Shadow Operatives played their part in solving the case. Headed for Kagoshima, the wide-body passenger aircraft was hijacked, and from the documents that were clipped along with the newspaper clippings, one of the passengers of the aircraft was the current leader of Kirijo Group, Mitsuru Kirijo. In the end, the case was resolved, thanks to the interference of the Shadow Operatives.

There were a few photos attached, showing the scenes of the hijacking. A few men attired in SWAT uniforms were seen in the photos. The photos were probably taken by the journalists at the scene.

Then, something caught Rias' attention.

In one photo, she saw someone familiar. There was a girl talking to a few SWAT men, clad in a black Chesterfield coat. Though she wasn't the focus in the picture, it didn't change the fact that she was in the picture. The girl's blond hair was chin-length, and from what Rias could tell, she was discussing something with the armed SWAT men.

"Aigis…" Rias muttered. A lot of questions started to form inside her head. Sighing, Rias set the documents and the newspaper clippings aside before she got up from her bed. She had been reading all the documents in her bedroom. "Urgh, the more I found, the more questions show up!" She complained to herself as she ruffled her red hair with her hands. Then, she sighed again.

Thinking that she already had enough, she picked up all the documents and the newspaper clippings before she put them away. Then, she plopped herself onto her own bed, stretching up her arms a bit.

"Aigis, Persona, Kirijo Group, Shadow Operatives…" Rias said before she brought one of her hands to her face. While there were still a lot of things that she didn't know, one thing that she was sure of was that all of them, in one way or another, had something to do with the supernatural world. Perhaps she could ask for her big brother's help to find a way to learn the secret behind all the mysteries surrounding them, especially about one particular android girl who seemed more human than a machine.

And once she made sure that there was nothing to worry about Aigis, she might move on to make that particular mechanical maiden to be one of the members of her peerage. While she wasn't sure whether an Evil Piece could work on a robot or not, she wouldn't know unless she tried. After seeing what she was capable of, with her powers that had displayed a few times before, having her in her peerage would be a great boon for her.

And considering that Aigis was a close friend to one of her minions, Issei Hyoudou, she was sure that convincing her would be an easy job. While thinking about convincing Aigis to serve under her, Rias' lips curled up into a devious smile. She's a Devil, so what would you actually expect? You couldn't exactly separate deviousness from the Devils, after all.

* * *

Both Mitsuru and Yukari stepped into a sound-proof room, followed by Kikuno. As soon as the three of them entered, Kikuno locked the door. Inside the room, there were a few seats and a table, and there was a briefcase placed on the rectangular table in the middle of the room.

"That looks important…" Yukari commented.

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. After reading its contents, it is safe to assume that it has to be hidden. Take a seat, Yukari." The red-haired woman took her seat, followed by Yukari. Kikuno remained standing as she took out a recording device. It looked like the conversation in the room would be recorded.

A while later after Kikuno pressed the record button, she nodded, and Mitsuru nodded to the maid as well. Mitsuru opened the briefcase, revealing its content. Yukari frowned as she saw the content.

"A book?" Yukari inquired, giving Mitsuru a skeptical look.

"A book, indeed." Mitsuru took out the book and handed it to Yukari. It was a notebook with hard covers. From its condition alone, Yukari could tell it was quite old. "But not just a normal book. It is a book which once belonged to…" she paused, hesitating, "Shuji Ikutsuki."

Upon hearing the name, Yukari's jaw tightened. Just hearing the name of the treacherous madman was enough to bring up some unpleasant memories. After taking a few moments to recompose herself, Yukari looked at Mitsuru. "So, this is Ikutsuki's book. Why are you showing me this?"

"I'll tell you eventually," Mitsuru said, sounding apologetic. "But, it is more proper to call this Ikutsuki's journals." She gave Yukari a look, as if telling her to open the book. Nodding, Yukari opened to one random page of the book, and frowned.

"This is…" Yukari looked back at Mitsuru.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded. "As you can see, the things that are written in Ikutsuki's journals are something that you may expect from such a madman such as him. The Prophecy of the Fall and the details regarding the Shadow experimentation back in 1999."

Yukari continued reading through the journals. The contents of the journals were essentially a combination of the rambling of a lunatic and the insightfulness of a scholar. The details of the prophecy was written comprehensively and thoroughly, and a few eerie symbols could be seen etched in each page. There was one page depicting a geometrical symbol as well as foreign writings.

"Tree of Life, a central mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah," Mitsuru rectified. When Yukari gave her a questioning look, Mitsuru added, "Kabbalah is some kind of esoteric method or discipline that originated from Judaism and later Occultism, if I'm not mistaken. Though this is different from what I had learned." She peered to see the page which depicted the geometrical symbol. "I will look into this in the future."

"S-so…" Yukari closed the book and put it on the table. The things that were written in the book disturbed her slightly. The contents of the book she was currently reading reminded her of one particular Persona-user named Takaya. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you showing me this?" Yukari asked.

Mitsuru closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose before she looked at Yukari.

"It's because the situation has changed. The Shadows are not only our primary concern anymore. We, the Shadow Operatives have pledged ourselves to protect humanity from any sort of harm," Mitsuru said. "Now that we have learned the existence of other supernatural entities such as the Devils and the Fallen Angels, as well as the feud between the biblical factions, I am afraid that humanity may end up becoming entangled in their conflicts. If there is a possibility of humans being involved in their conflicts, I will not sit back and let it happen. I assume you're also thinking the same too, Yukari?"

Yukari lowered her head. "But… does it have something to do with Ikutsuki's journals and the prophecy?"

"Look at the last page…" Mitsuru said. Yukari nodded and picked the book to see the last page. An old photo fell down from the book.

"An old photo?" Yukari raised one eyebrow.

"It was taken during the late seventies," Mitsuru said. In the photo, there were two men. One of them was an unassuming man clad in suit, while the other was a rather tall man with a rather handsome feature. The colors of the old photo had already faded, but Yukari could see that the handsome man's hair seemed to be multicolored. "The shorter man was my grandfather, Kouetsu Kirijo, while the other one is unidentified. And from the journals as well as what I had told you before, you already know what kind of person my grandfather was, right?"

Yukari nodded. She was told that Kouetsu Kirijo was a man obsessed with the idea of the Fall, and the mastermind behind the experimentation of the Shadows back at 1999. He was killed during the explosion, and apparently, his will was carried out by one of his students and advisers, Shuji Ikutsuki.

"This is just an assumption, but from the writings in the journals, my grandfather learned about the prophecy from someone during his youth. The details are scarce, but we can tell from the journals that the origin of where my grandfather had learned the prophecy from was supernatural in nature." Mitsuru's expression turned severe. She closed her eyes for a while before she reopened them. "Like I said, it is just an assumption, but I do think that my grandfather had encountered some sort of supernatural entity which allowed him to learn about the prophecy."

Yukari finally understood what Mitsuru meant. "And… if one of the biblical factions that Aigis had told us was behind all this…" she stopped as Mitsuru nodded. Upon realizing the whole situation, Yukari immediately slammed the journals onto the table. She seemed furious upon finally connecting all the dots. "Dammit!"

Because of them, because of the unnecessary knowledge, the Dark Hour was created. The Prophecy of the Fall, the birth of the Shadow of the thirteenth Arcana, Death, the emergence of Nyx, and the sacrifice of a boy named Minato Arisato, all of these things happened because of them.

Yukari's shoulders were shaking due to anger. Because of them, a lot of people had been living in a series of misfortunes. Many people had suffered due to their machinations. Not only to her, but also to Mitsuru, Minato and Aigis. She gritted her teeth as she clawed on her knees, as if trying to curb down her anger.

"I understand how you feel, Yukari, but… like I said, it's just an assumption. We are not sure whether that is really the case. We may have gotten a few details wrong, so I advise you to not do anything drastic for the time being…" Mitsuru said to Yukari in a reassuring tone.

"B-but… but… why?" Yukari said weakly. "All the things that happened, all the misfortunes, all the suffering and pain, and the sacrifice he made… were they just a part of a machination of someone else? Were we just mere pawns of their stupid schemes?"

"Let us hope that is not the case," Mitsuru reassured. "Whether it is just a mere machination or not, some facts will never change. All the suffering that all of us endured, all of them were real. We were heartbroken, wounded, hurt, but at the same time, we grew. We learned something from our ordeals, and each of us became a better person after enduring such ordeals. And it doesn't matter if everything was just a mere machination, because in the end, his sacrifice saved humanity as a whole."

For a while, Yukari was silent before she nodded weakly, then she smiled. The smile looked rather sad. "I-I guess you're right, Senpai. I was being irrational again, wasn't I?" Yukari said with a crooked smile. "I guess I still have a long ways to go…"

Mitsuru smiled warmly. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Yukari." The red-haired woman took Ikutsuki's journals and put them back into the briefcase. After closing the briefcase, she looked at Kikuno. "I suppose that's the end of it. End the record, Kikuno."

Kikuno nodded before she ended the record. Then, she went to unlock the door and opened it.

"Come on, Yukari. Let's go," Mitsuru said to Yukari.

"A-alright." Yukari followed after the red-haired woman, walking out of the room.

"Hmm… would you like to stay over for dinner?" Mitsuru asked as she stood beside Yukari.

"Eh?" Yukari blinked several times, caught off-guard by Mitsuru's sudden question.

"Well, it's been quite a while since the last time we had dinner together, am I wrong?" Mitsuru reasoned.

"Umm… is that okay?" Yukari asked uncertainly.

Mitsuru smiled. "Of course. Having a dinner by myself can be pretty lonely sometimes. And since Kikuno is my maid, she can't exactly sit down and have dinner together with me," the red-haired woman gestured to the maid who was accompanying them.

Kikuno seemed apologetic. "I apologize for my inability to enjoy a dinner alongside you due to my position, milady," the maid said.

"Well, I can't exactly blame you for that," Mitsuru said to Kikuno. "But, in case if you have some days off, would you like to keep me company? Not as my maid or my escort, but as my friend." She smiled at the maid.

Kikuno looked down. Yukari blinked a few times. She might be imagining it, but she somehow saw Kikuno's cheeks flushing slightly, as if in embarrassment.

"In any case, we have to prepare for the worst," Mitsuru said. "I'll inform the other members of the Shadow Operatives. In the meantime," she looked at Kikuno, "Kikuno, will you inform the chefs and the other maids that Yukari will be staying over for dinner? I'd like some preparations to be made to match her accommodation."

"Understood, milady." Kikuno bowed before she left.

"Umm… you don't have to do that," Yukari said. "I'm alright with anything, you see?"

"But I'd like to have dinner with my best friend," Mitsuru told Yukari. "And the dinner has to be perfect for her. Am I wrong?"

"W-well… I guess I can't argue with that…" Yukari scratched her cheek. "Hmm… by the way, where's Labrys? I thought she might be staying here with you. I heard that an ASW like her works as a maid when off-duty, right?" Aigis once told her that whenever she was off-duty, she would be working as Mitsuru's maid.

"Yes, she does work here as a maid, and she seems quite enthusiastic with it since Kikuno is the one showing her the ropes, but yesterday, I sent her away to accompany her sister in her mission," Mitsuru said. "In that way, Aigis won't be lonely all by herself."

"Eh?" Yukari blinked a few times. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a while before she looked at her best friend and spoke, "Mitsuru-senpai, do you think… it's a good idea? I mean, it's Labrys we're talking about…"

"Well…" Mitsuru's gaze faltered. "Honestly speaking, even I'm not entirely sure. But considering that she'll be with Aigis, I suppose Labrys will be fine. Maybe. Probably."

Despite the (rather unconvincing) reassurance, Yukari couldn't help but worry. Due to that particular mechanical maiden's limited interactions with normal humans, Yukari was afraid that things might get a little complicated, and she had a feeling that something troublesome might happen in the near future, and such troublesome things might end up giving them headaches.

* * *

Yuuto Kiba was walking down the street, carrying a grocery bag with him in one hand. A while ago, he was shopping for the night's dinner. He had been living by himself these last few years, and he was doing alright most of the time. And considering that he was a part of Rias Gremory's peerage, he had nothing much to worry.

It had been two days since the Raynare incident. An ex-nun, Asia Argento, was killed during the confrontation, and as a result, Rias Gremory reincarnated her into a Devil despite the fact that her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, had been taken away from her. After all, the removal of the Sacred Gear was the main cause of her death. Apparently, the newly-reincarnated Asia was trying her best to adjust herself in her new life as a Devil, and the other members of the peerage, especially Issei, had been supporting her.

Kiba smiled as he recalled the sight of Asia following Issei around back at school. He had to admit it was quite an adorable sight to behold. Such a sight reminded him of a duckling following its mother. And when Issei wasn't around, Asia would be following Aigis instead. And when both Issei and Aigis were there, Asia would be following both of them. And when both Issei and Aigis parted ways, Asia would start panicking in such an adorable way as she was unable to decide which one should she follow, with her teary eyes and 'moe' expression that were proven to be quite fatal to those men of lesser stature.

Kiba sighed. In a way, he was happy for Issei. He had been having quite a rough week due to him being targeted by the Fallen Angels. So seeing him being happy with Asia and Aigis made him feel relieved.

"Happiness, huh?" Kiba muttered to himself. He stopped walking as he recalled some old memories. He flinched as those memories flashed through his mind. He immediately shook his head before he started walking again.

There's no need to think about such a thing. All he had to focus now was to grow stronger and serve under Rias Gremory, as well as to live his life as best as he could.

As he walked, he saw something, or rather, someone who caught his interest. He glanced at that someone, who was a girl clad in a long, dark-blue jacket, who had a large bag sitting beside her feet. The girl's bluish-gray long hair was tied up into a ponytail. She was standing near a lamppost, holding a piece of paper while gingerly looking at her surroundings. The girl had a rather cute face and pale skin, and her eyes were red in color. While definitely rare, it was not impossible for someone to have this eye color.

At first, he thought about leaving the girl be. After all, even if her rather exotic look caught his attention, the girl was probably too preoccupied with whatever she was currently doing. As he stepped away, he suddenly stopped when he heard the girl's voice calling for him.

"E-excuse me?" The girl's voice was pleasant and rather high-pitched, matching with her cute, girlish look. Kiba looked back and his eyes met with a pair of red pupils that stared back into his.

"Yes?" As usual, Kiba wore his 'gentleman' smile and spoke to the girl. Strangely, the girl didn't display any sort of reaction like most females who interacted with him.

"Sorry for takin' your time, mister," the girl spoke, and Kiba noticed that she was speaking in Kansai dialect. "I'm new to this place, y'see, and I'm kinda lost…" she said, giving the blond boy a bashful smile. "Do you know which way to take to reach this address?" The girl showed Kiba the paper she was holding, and written on it was an address.

"Hmm…" Kiba took the address from the girl and looked at it. "Well, I guess I can show you the way, Miss," he said, smiling at the girl, and the girl's expression brightened. "It's definitely better than telling you which way to take, right?"

"Thanks a bunch, mister!" The girl said, beaming happily. Then, she remembered something. "By the way, name's Labrys. It's good to meet'cha!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Finally, it's done! After hibernating for almost a month to refill my creativity juice, I finally managed to finish the latest chapter! Confetti! Yay! Once again, Prince Arjuna is back to business! As you can see here, the chapter is kinda short, and more focused on P3 than DxD. But this is just the beginning of a new arc, so please don't really mind the shortness of this chapter. Persona-users will be more involved in the future, and may end up making a whole new faction. I hope you can just wait and see. And in this chapter, I introduced Labrys, our cute little robot girl with cute Kansai accent! Please expect more from her in the future.

And of course, I won't forget to mention this; thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice to work alongside you.

So, don't forget to leave some reviews, 'kay? He needs 'em in order to keep on writing. See you guys again in the next chapter, **Chapter 12: Wheel of Fortune.** Dang, I'm gonna break 'two words for the chapter's title' rule!

**What I have planned:** "I am a Shadow, the true self!"

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	12. Wheel of Fortune

"So, you're saying you're going to your sister's place so that you can go to Kuoh Academy?" Kiba asked the girl beside him, walking alongside her. Both of them were walking at steady paces.

"Yep!" The ponytailed girl replied, smiling rather enthusiastically. "It's my first time goin' out on my own, though. Everything seems kinda new, if I hafta be honest…" still speaking in her Kansai dialect, she looked at the blond boy beside her. Kiba thought her accent sounded rather cute.

"I see…" Kiba mused.

Kiba thought the girl's name was a little bit weird, though. Labrys, she told him earlier. That name sounded too strange even if she was a foreigner. Now that he took a good look on the girl beside him, she did have a bit Caucasian look on her. She spoke perfect Japanese, albeit an accented one. Kiba thought that she probably had mixed ancestry.

"Somethin' wrong, Kiba-kun?" Labrys asked as she saw Kiba scrunching up his brow.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing, umm… Labrys-san?" Kiba said uncertainly. He sure hope he didn't say her name wrong. Then, he realized that Labrys had been addressing him with a '-kun', even though it was their first time meeting each other.

"Somethin' on my face?" Labrys asked innocently, blinking a few times when Kiba looked at her face.

"No, there's nothing…" Kiba replied, suddenly realizing that he had been looking at the girl's face.

"Is that so?" Labrys tilted her head, still blinking.

Then they spoke no more as they walked alongside each other. Somehow, Kiba, for the first time, felt a little bit awkward. Throughout his life, he was capable of handling the females around him whenever they were swooning over him, but somehow, this girl was different. She did not act like most girls around him.

While it suited him just fine, her apparent innocence made Kiba feel rather self-conscious.

"So, Kiba-kun, you goin' to Kuoh Academy too, right?" Labrys suddenly asked.

"Ah, yes…" Kiba nodded. "I'm a second-year student." He smiled at the girl.

"Second-year? I'm second-year too this year," Labrys said, beaming cheerfully. "My sis too." She added.

"Your sister too?" Kiba raised one eyebrow. "Sorry for asking, Labrys-san, but which one of you is the older one?" He asked.

"The older one, huh?" Labrys tapped her chin, furrowing her brow, as if deep in thought. "I guess I'm the older one, but it doesn't matter. Older or younger, she's still my sister."

"I see…" Kiba mused.

Then, they fell silent once again. When they took a turn at the corner, Kiba looked at the address in the piece of paper he was holding.

"Ah, I believe we're almost there. It's just a couple of blocks away," Kiba said, looking at Labrys while smiling. "Think you can go on your own, Labrys-san? I'm sure you'll be able to find your sister's place by yourself. Just go straight and you'll find your sister's house."

Thinking that his job was done, the blond boy turned on his heel, but before he could even take one step away, suddenly he was stopped by Labrys' hand pinching on the sleeve of his shirt. When he saw Labrys, whose hand was grabbing his sleeve, Kiba was too shocked to even think properly.

He looked at Labrys' face and saw her rather serious expression.

"Whaddaya think you're doin', Kiba-kun?" Labrys asked, frowning. "Didn't ya offer to bring me to my sis' place? It's kinda rude to leave things half-assed, y'know?"

Kiba blinked. He could see Labrys' red eyes staring into his, and he swore that those crimson pupils of hers were flaring slightly. When he thought about it, the girl sure had a point. It was him who decided to accompany her to find her sister's place, and she interpreted him excusing himself to be backing out from his decision earlier.

Scratching the back of his head, Kiba gave Labrys an apologetic smile. "My bad. You're right, it was rude of me to just back away, leaving this matter half-assed. I'm sorry."

Smiling with satisfaction, Labrys nodded, her frown was no longer on her face. "Alright! C'mon, Kiba-kun! Lead the way!"

Sighing, Kiba stepped forward, leading the strange ponytailed girl to their destination. Somehow, the tone that she made earlier sounded rather persuasive, and Kiba couldn't find himself in his heart to make any excuse to get away. While he had no problem giving assistance to those who needed help, he would rather not get too involved with them.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination. Reading the address, Kiba nodded before he looked at Labrys.

"I think this is the place, Labrys-san," Kiba told the ponytailed girl. This might be the right time for him to excuse himself.

"Kiba-kun, would you like to see my sis?" Labrys asked when Kiba was about to turn away to leave.

"Huh? Oh." Kiba blinked a few times. "Well, I don't wish to get in your way, Labrys-san." After all, his job was already done.

Labrys smiled. "Nah, I reckoned my sis won't really mind. I think she's gonna thank ya for helpin' me, y'see?" Tugging on the boy's sleeve, the ponytailed girl spoke to him in a rather persuasive tone. "C'mon, Kiba-kun. I insist."

"W-well…" Kiba was unable to bring himself to refuse and had no choice but to relent to the girl's persuasion. "I suppose showing myself to your sister won't hurt." He imagined that he might as well see Labrys' sister to see how she was like. Considering that Labrys had told him earlier that her sister was also a student at Kuoh Academy, he might be able to recognize her.

"Nice!" Grinning, Labrys brought Kiba to where her sister was living at. Ringing the doorbell, she called for her sister. "Sis, it's me!"

"Ah," Kiba could hear a female voice from inside the apartment, and Kiba assumed that it might be from Labrys' sister. Somehow, that voice sounded rather familiar, but it might be just his imagination. "Wait a moment, I'll open the door!"

They heard footsteps before the door was unlocked. When the door was opened from inside, they saw a girl with blond, chin-length hair, attired in a black suit standing before them. The girl blinked a few times in puzzlement, not expecting the boy who was accompanying her sister.

And Kiba recognized the girl.

"Aigis-san?"

"Ah, Kiba-san?"

Before they could even say anything else, Labrys leaped towards her sister, giving her a hug.

"It's so nice to meet'cha again, sis!" Labrys exclaimed happily. "I really missed you, y'know?"

Bewildered for a few seconds as her sister wrapped her arms around her, Labrys' sister, Aigis, smiled. Then she hugged her back.

"I really missed you too, Labrys…" Aigis said softly. "My sister..."

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**A Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 12: Wheel of Fortune**

"So, uh…" Kiba began, sitting on the floor in seiza, as Aigis poured him some Japanese tea. "You are Aigis-san's sister," he spoke to Labrys, who was sitting on Aigis' capsule seat, her hands on her lap. It wasn't even a question he gave to her.

"Yup." Labrys nodded.

"That is correct." Aigis also nodded.

"So… that makes you, uh… a robot too, right?" Kiba asked.

"The proper term is Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, but yes…" Aigis nodded again. "Labrys is the earlier model, the 5th Generation ASW while I am the later one, the 7th Generation ASW. So, it can be said that Labrys is my older sister…" the android girl informed Kiba.

"But," Kiba looked at Labrys before he said, "she looks human."

"Oh," Labrys blinked a few times. "Wait for a bit, I gonna turn off the function first." Kiba could see Labrys' body flickering, before her flesh-like body parts were replaced by metallic, mechanical parts. "Here we go. Sorry 'bout that, but I didn't know you know my sis, Kiba-kun," Labrys spoke to Kiba apologetically.

Kiba's eyes widened when he saw the apparently human Labrys turning into a robot, or an ASW. Apparently, he was too surprised to say anything about this.

"Unlike me, upon her creation, Labrys was equipped with something that allows her to distort the perception of other people on her," Aigis explained. "By manipulating the light as well as projecting the false images on her body, as well as tricking the senses of other people, she can project illusions that allow her to appear as a human to other people." She nodded to herself a few times. "She even once managed to fool herself, thinking that she was a human instead of an android, thanks to her strong illusion powers."

Labrys smiled rather bashfully. "W-well, it ain't that a big deal," she said humbly. "I mean, sis is even more powerful than me. My simple parlor trick ain't that much compared to her powers. I mean, she can even summon many Personas!"

Aigis chuckled. "Labrys, I do believe that being able to manipulate illusions is quite a feat. Imagine what can happen if that power of yours is fully utilized."

Both Aigis and Labrys were discussing about their sisters (who were actually them, coincidentally) being much better than them, leaving Kiba to gape at them in utter confusion. It took them nearly twenty minutes before they realized that they were ignoring their guest.

"Ah, I almost forgot that you are here, Kiba-san," Aigis said. "I apologize. It's just that being able to meet my sister makes me happy."

"Uh, w-well… I don't really mind, actually," Kiba replied before he took the Japanese tea that Aigis poured for him earlier. The tea had cooled down because he was too busy watching both the robot sisters to even drink the beverage. "It's just that… I never expected this kind of thing."

"You did not expect me having a sister?" Aigis asked.

"It's more like I didn't expect Labrys-san to be a robot," Kiba said. "I mean, she looked like a normal girl when I first saw her."

"I'm sorry for trickin' ya, Kiba-kun," bowing slightly, the ponytailed mechanical maiden apologized to Kiba.

"Well, I don't think you did that out of malice." Kiba smiled at Labrys. "So, I guess it's alright."

Giving Kiba a gentle smile, Aigis bowed to Kiba slightly. "Kiba-san, thank you for helping out my sister. But…" She glanced at Labrys. "When I think about it again, you should be equipped with an internal GPS system which could help you navigate around the area. How did you get lost when you could just use GPS system to find my location?"

"W-well…" Labrys seemed to be embarrassed, tapping her chin with her metallic fingers as she looked aside. "I wanna try using traditional means of navigation, y'see? I used maps and compasses like normal humans do. I also tried askin' for directions, and luckily for me, Kiba-kun helped me to find the way." She beamed cheerfully, looking at the boy who helped her.

"Most people nowadays use GPS, in any case if you are wondering, sister," Aigis spoke in robotic tone, indicating that she was using her sarcastic voice. "Anyways, since you will be living with me from now on, I assume that you may be transferring into Kuoh soon."

Labrys nodded. "Yep! And Mitsuru-san also made me a student ID!" Labrys took out a card from the pocket of her jacket, handing it to Aigis. Both Aigis and Kiba took a good look on the student ID. There was Labrys' picture on it, and she was wearing a formal attire with a deep blue necktie.

And their eyes focused on Labrys' name on the card.

_Labrys Kirijo._

Both Aigis and Kiba looked at Labrys in disbelief.

"That is… the laziest thing someone can do for a fake identity," Kiba commented.

"Whoa, careful there, Kiba-kun," Labrys said. "If Mitsuru-san hears that, you gonna get executed." Her expression turned grim. "It won't be pretty, I assure ya."

For some reasons, Kiba could feel a chill down his spine upon hearing Labrys' warning.

"I concur." Aigis nodded. "Even so, I have to agree with what Kiba-san said. This name reeks of laziness. I understand that Mitsuru-san is a busy person, but she can at least try to show her own effort in this matter."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Shadow Operatives' headquarters, Mitsuru sneezed while she was signing the documents on her desk.

"What's the matter, milady?" The maid who stood beside her, Kikuno, asked her. "Did you perhaps catch a cold?" From her tone alone, she sounded rather concerned.

"Hmm… I'm not sure…" Mitsuru replied. "I hope it's not the case. For me, whose main power is ice, to catch a cold, it is rather embarrassing…" she said before she continued with her tasks. Being a leader of a multinational company, Mitsuru had no time to be stopped by something so trivial such as a cold.

"Would you like me to provide cold medicine, just in case?" Kikuno asked.

For a while, Mitsuru was silent before she spoke, "…Yes, please."

* * *

"Putting that aside, I think you should put yourself in hibernate mode for now, sister," Aigis said to Labrys. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day, since you're going to be transferring into Kuoh Academy. You still need to prepare mentally for that."

"Ah, sure!" Labrys nodded.

Seeing that as a cue to leave, Kiba got up on his feet. "So, I'll be going now. I still need to prepare for tonight's dinner." He looked at Labrys, smiling. "Wish you good luck tomorrow, Labrys-san."

"Thanks, schoolmate!" Labrys replied.

And so, after bidding both mechanical maidens farewell, Kiba walked out of Aigis' apartment, carrying his grocery bag, walking home.

While he was walking, he was pondering about something.

"So… this Mitsuru is their superior, huh?" Kiba muttered to himself. He was walking down the street as he recalled the time when both androids spoke that name. He was sure that he had heard that name sometime ago.

Kirijo Group. Now that he thought about it again, both Aigis and Labrys used Kirijo as their family names. At first, he thought it was just mere coincidence, but then, after putting together all the pieces, he believed that the current leader and CEO of multinational company that spread across multiple countries in the world, Mitsuru Kirijo, was the one who held the reins behind Aigis' actions.

"Then again, why did a CEO of a multinational company send a robot to here in the first place?" Despite already finding out the identity of Aigis' mysterious superior and apparent benefactor, it still explained too little about their motives.

Was the android sent here from the future to kill a kid who was actually a future rebel leader against a robotic invasion? Kiba, of course, mentally chastised himself immediately soon after that for thinking about something so silly.

Even so, there had to be some reasons behind Mitsuru Kirijo's decision to send someone like Aigis in his mistress' territory. Considering that their businesses might be supernatural in nature, the Devils around the area had every right to be cautious. Their involvement in supernatural matters might even disrupt the already fragile peace between three biblical factions.

"I guess it's a thing to think of another time, then." Kiba sighed. He continued walking down the street, going home.

* * *

The next day, both Aigis and Labrys walked to the school together. They could hear a few students murmuring to each other about this unfamiliar girl.

At school, during the homeroom session, Labrys introduced herself to the other students. Somehow, by luck, Labrys was in the same class as her sister, Aigis.

"Name's Labrys Kirijo. I'm Ai Kirijo's older half-sister." Labrys beamed cheerfully. "It's so good to meet'cha all!"

That cheerful, cute smile of hers almost sent the whole class into utter mayhem. Having strange name notwithstanding, the rest of the class accepted this new transfer student rather well. A little bit too well, in fact.

Issei gave Aigis a bewildered look.

"I'll explain to you later," Aigis said to Issei.

And so, during lunchtime, Aigis brought her sister out of the classroom, away from being surrounded by curious classmates, mostly girls, from being interrogated. They could have their interrogation for later, because they still needed to clear things up with Rias Gremory and company. In order to avoid giving them wrong impression, Aigis believed that she had to explain their situation with them.

While her true mission was to observe Rias Gremory and their objectives, Mitsuru never said that she couldn't keep a cordial relationship with them. After all, one of the members of her peerage, Issei, was her close friend.

Aigis, Labrys and Issei (as well as Asia, who was latching herself on Issei's arm, by the way) walked together to the old schoolhouse, the clubhouse for Occult Research Club. When they entered the old schoolhouse, all its members were already there.

"I believe I never mentioned her before, but this is my sister, Labrys," Aigis introduced her sister to the members of Occult Research Club.

All the members of the club, sans Kiba, were staring at the ponytailed girl after Aigis introduced her.

"S-so…" After a few moments of stunned silence, Rias spoke, "Is she… also the same like you?" She asked Aigis.

"Yes," Aigis nodded. She looked at Labrys. "Sister, if you please…"

"Got it." Labrys nodded before she deactivated her illusion, revealing her true mechanical, robotic form. "Here we go. Like my sis, I'm also an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. I'm the 5th Generation to be made, so I'm older than my sis. Like my sis said, name's Labrys. It's nice to meet'cha," Labrys explained with a smile.

"Illusion…" Koneko commented.

"A robot capable of illusions?" Akeno mused, tapping her chin with her fingers. "Fufufu… interesting."

The newest member of the group, Asia Argento blinked in befuddlement.

"Yes, one of Labrys' specialties is conjuring illusions," Aigis informed. "With that illusory power of hers, she will be able to conceal her robotic parts and appear as a normal girl…" She looked down slightly. "I am not equipped with the equipment that allows me to do the same, and my system is incompatible with it. So, I am unable to do the same thing as her."

"I-I see…" Rias mused. "But, why are you telling me this, Aigis-san?"

Aigis blinked a few times before she understood what Rias meant. "I believe that by informing you beforehand, we can avoid unnecessary misunderstandings in the future. Considering that we are aware of your nature as well as the truth behind the conflicts between three biblical factions, I want you to know that we mean no harm." She tactfully left out the part about her observing Rias Gremory and her peerage, as well as the Devils and the other factions in general, to figure out whether their existence could pose any harm to humanity or not. After the encounter with the stray Devil Gremda many days ago, Shadow Operatives decided that further investigation had to be made.

"Is that so?" Rias raised one eyebrow. "Hmm… even so, do you think it is necessary for you to inform us regarding this matter?" Her expression turned serious as she clasped her hands together, focusing her blue eyes on the mechanical maidens before her. "We may end up using this information against you."

"If that is the case, we have no choice but to retaliate," Aigis answered without missing a beat. "We are Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, the machines built to fight any inhuman entities that may endanger innocents. If you decide to go against us, then we will crush every single one of you, without mercy. If you make a declaration of war, it is only natural that we react in kind."

All the Devils stiffened. There was no hesitation in the mechanical maiden's tone. She was sure that she was capable of handling every single one of them. Despite being able to use the Power of Destruction, Rias was unsure if fighting Aigis was a good idea. And now that she already had another fighting robot beside her, the risk was getting higher. After seeing what she was capable of, they didn't know if they could even defeat her without suffering great casualties.

"Even so," Aigis smiled, "I believe it will never come to that. After all, Issei-san and Asia-san are part of your group. I believe that at least your group will not pose any danger to humanity." While she wasn't sure about the rest of the Devils, she thought that it was safe to assume that Rias Gremory's group would not do something that could harm humanity. It's just that she wanted to learn more about the Devils through her group to decide whether the Devils as a whole were dangerous to humanity or not.

"Ai-chan…" There was a smile of relief on Issei's face. He didn't want to fight Aigis, one of his close friends.

Sighing, Rias smiled as well. "I'm sorry for saying such an absurd thing, Aigis-san," the crimson-haired Devil said. "I assure you that we will never think about harming the innocents, no matter what. After all, we need them." She smiled deviously.

Aigis understood what Rias meant. Devils needed the humans for the contracting purpose. While it sounded like they were taking advantage of the humans, it was probably just a part of their devilish nature. As long as they did not directly cause any harm on humans, then she would be willing to turn a blind eye on them.

"Is there anything else any one of you wish to ask?" Aigis asked.

This time, the vice-president of the club, Akeno, was the one to speak, "Let's see…" She pondered about it for a few moments before she asked, "Labrys-san, right? Are you also capable of summoning a Persona?"

The question was directed to Labrys. "Me? Oh, of course." Labrys nodded. She got up from her seat. "Persona, Ariadne!"

The ponytailed mechanical maiden's body was wreathed in an azure light as a figure manifested itself right behind her. The figure took the form of a woman with a semi-robotic look. Her bluish-gray long hair let out glitters in the air, and as she was fully manifested, she landed elegantly on the floor, making a proper curtsy to the group.

"Aww, shucks." Labrys tapped her Persona's back. "Ya don't have to do that." Others could see the ponytailed mechanical maiden's cheeks turning red a bit.

"So, that's your Persona, Labrys-san?" Kiba asked, studying the woman. When he took a good look on her, a few crimson patterns could be seen floating around her. "What is her name again? Ariadne?"

Aigis nodded. "Yes. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, the half-sister of the fearsome Minotaur. She was the one who helped the demigod hero, Theseus, find a way out from the twisted labyrinth of Minotaur. Abandoned after helping Theseus, the Olympian Dionysus took her to become his wife"

"Ah…" Rias observed the mechanical-looking woman. "I never expect someone from… ancient Greece to have this kind of appearance."

"The same goes to Athena, actually," Aigis said. "No one expects her to be a bossy, nagging type of person."

Pallas Athena groaned from inside the sea of soul.

Labrys nodded to Ariadne before the Persona dissipated into motes of blue particles, disappearing.

"Is there anything else?" Aigis asked.

"Hmm…" Rias thought about it for a while. "Actually, there is something that I wish to ask you, Aigis-san."

"Please ask away, Gremory-san," Aigis said.

Clasping her hands together again, Rias asked, "What is your relationship with the one named Mitsuru Kirijo?"

Aigis was silent for a while. Labrys also didn't say anything. After a few moments of silence, Aigis answered "…Mitsuru Kirijo is my superior."

Now that confirmed it. Whatever this Mitsuru was planning for, it was she who ordered Aigis to be stationed in Rias' territory. "Which organization or faction do you and this Mitsuru Kirijo belong to?"

"I'm afraid that particular piece of information is not to be disclosed to you, as I am not given any permission to do so," Aigis answered. "I apologize," she added.

"Does 'Shadow Operatives' ring any bells to you?" Rias continued pushing her own luck.

Labrys was about to say something but was stopped when Aigis looked at her.

"So, you do make your own research, Gremory-san," Aigis spoke. "Even so, my previous statement remains. I have no obligation to answer that particular question, Gremory-san."

"But you also didn't deny it, did you?" Rias asked, smiling deviously.

"I neither confirm nor deny it, so it proves nothing. I apologize for my rudeness." Aigis bowed. "I advise you to not bring up this question to me in the future."

"Ah, I see…" Rias mused. "I'm sorry for bringing this up too, Aigis-san. You are free to go."

* * *

"What do you think, Akeno?" Rias asked her vice-president as the rest of the members of the club, as well as Aigis and Labrys, left the old schoolhouse. Akeno was arranging a few documents that Rias had brought with her.

"Two Gundams?" Akeno said jokingly.

Rias sighed and shook her head. "I'm actually thinking about Doraemon, but that's beside the point. The point is…" She brought up her teacup and took a sip before she put it back on the saucer on the table in front of her. "Even though she doesn't confirm it, she doesn't deny it either. While it may prove nothing, considering how much I have learned, it's safe to assume that the organization Aigis belongs to is this 'Shadow Operatives'. Despite taking the front of a government-backed police section, I believe that the establishment of this organization has something to do with supernatural world."

Akeno set down the documents she was arranging. "And you wish to learn more this organization's true objective?"

Rias nodded. "Yes. Despite Aigis' claim that her purpose is to protect humanity from inhuman entities, we are still not sure whether that is Aigis' personal objective or the organization's objective as a whole. There might be a chance that both Aigis and this organization have differing objectives and only use each other to accomplish their own objectives."

"Even so, that is just a mere assumption coming from you, Rias." Akeno said. "What if that organization was made to gather individuals with the same objective?"

"That's possible too. But this is humans we are talking about, Akeno," Rias said, smiling wryly. "There's no way they can be that altruistic. There has to be some ulterior motives for them to work alongside each other."

"Not impossible," Akeno countered.

"Oho?" Rias raised one eyebrow, looking at Akeno, her lips curled up into a devilish smirk. "Which part of you is the one who say that? The human part of you? Or perhaps the devilish part of you? Or probably something else?"

"My, my… is that a declaration of war from you, Rias?" Akeno smiled sweetly, but the effect of the smile was diminished by the flickering electricity on the tips of her fingers.

"C'mon now, Akeno. I'm just kidding," Rias said. Electricity on Akeno's hands faded. "Putting that aside, there are still a lot of things we don't know. But if things go well, then we can even convince Aigis to join us to be a part of my peerage. And probably convince her sister to join us as well." Devils put the value of strength and power on such a high pedestal, and having both Aigis and Labrys joining them might grant them extra advantage.

"Well, if that's your decision, I have to go with it, then." Akeno shrugged. "But I suggest you to thread this matter carefully, Buchou. One wrong step, then we may end up antagonizing Aigis. And her sister too, if we are unlucky."

Rias was silent for a few moments.

"You do realize it too, don't you?" Akeno said. "There's more to her than meets the eye. The powers she displayed days ago are probably just the mere fractions of what she is actually capable of. It's probably safe to assume that she is not someone who should be turned into our enemy," her expression was grim as she spoke. "She even showed no hesitation when she said that she's not afraid to crush us if we pose harm to humanity."

"Yes." Rias nodded. "I realize it too. That is why I have taken a few measures." She drummed her fingers on the table. "I'm not Sona, but I too believe that careful planning and strategy are essential in order to achieve victory."

"My, how devilish of you, Rias," Akeno said before she giggled.

"Aren't we all?" Rias grinned at Akeno. "We are Devils. Being devilish is a part of our nature."

"Well, I suppose I can't argue with that," Akeno said.

Then, Rias sighed before she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What's the matter, Buchou?" Akeno asked, looking at the crimson-haired Devil.

"Even so… there are already two of them," Rias began. "Aigis and her sister, I mean."

"And that's a bad thing because?" Akeno questioned.

"Well, you know that having to deal with a robot with destructive powers in my territory can give us a headache, right?" Rias reasoned. "Now, they're multiplying."

"Oh." Akeno realized what Rias meant, and soon after that, she joined Rias in sighing while thinking about potential collateral damages that could be caused, now that there were two of them in the area.

* * *

"So, you're Ai-chan's sister, huh?" Issei asked as he walked alongside Labrys back to the classroom.

"Yup. So, you're Issei-kun, right?" Labrys said to the perverted boy beside her. "You probably already know it, but name's Labrys. It's good to meet'cha!"

"Y-yeah, it's good to meet'cha too, uh… L-Labrys-san?" Issei said to the ponytailed mechanical maiden in an uncertain tone.

Meanwhile, Asia was latching herself on Aigis as they walked.

"Hmm…" Labrys observed the blond girl who was walking alongside her sister. "Is it just me, or ain't they gettin' a little bit too close?"

"W-well… it's complicated, actually," Issei said unsurely. "A lot of things happened, and Asia-chan ends up getting a little clingy whenever Ai-chan's around."

"Oh." Labrys blinked.

"Hmm?" Aigis noticed that Asia was latching herself against her arm as they walked. "What's the matter, Asia-san? Something's bothering you?" She asked, showing concern to the shorter girl.

"Umm… w-well…" Asia fidgeted. Somehow, she was blushing slightly. "I-I'm actually wondering if, umm… w-well, you can spare your time with me later after school at the library?" She fidgeted again. "I-I'm actually thinking if we can study together, t-that is…"

"Wow…" Labrys couldn't contain her suspicion. "That sounds fishy and can be interpreted in so many wrong ways." She shook her head. "Many, many wrong ways."

"W-well, I guess Asia-chan likes Ai-chan," Issei said.

"Seriously? Now that sounds more than just fishy," Labrys commented.

On the other hand, Aigis was smiling. "Very well. I will spend time with you at the library. I suppose I can show you a few pointers about what you are going to study, Asia-san." Then, she looked at Issei. "Would you like to join us too, Issei-san?"

"M-me? Oh, of course! Count me in!" Issei exclaimed happily.

"Issei-san too?! Hawawawa!" Now, Asia's face was bright red due to embarrassment.

Labrys squinted her eyes in suspicion. "Now that's just beyond fishy." What kind of relationship did those three had? That was the question that started to plague Labrys' virtual mind.

"Sister," Aigis addressed Labrys. "Would you like to join us too?" She asked.

"Oh, me?" Labrys blinked. "W-well…" she looked at both Asia and Issei.

"C'mon, Labby-chan!" Issei said, immediately addressing her in such a way. One of her friends in Inaba, Teddie, also called her that. It brought such a nostalgic feeling in her. "Since you're Ai-chan's sister, I wanna be your friend too!" He grinned.

Asia also nodded. "Umm… L-Labrys-san, I want to know you better as well!" She dipped into a deep bow. "I would very much appreciate it if you're willing to join, Labrys-san!"

"S-sis?" Labrys looked at Aigis, feeling slightly worried.

"It will be fine, sister." Aigis said.

After a while, Labrys nodded and smiled.

"Sure!"

* * *

Mitsuru Kirijo put away a few documents after she was done with them. Then she removed her reading glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. Having to deal with paperwork all day could be mentally exhausting for the CEO of the Kirijo Group. She actually preferred being put into combat fields rather than dealing with the paperwork or administrative jobs. At least, fighting could bring certain thrills into her.

Her rapier, her favorite one, was seen hanging on the wall not too far from her working desk. Being proficient in fencing, she would rather actually prefer having to wield the sword than to mount it on the wall.

"Milady, would you like me to give you shoulder massage?" The maid who was dutifully standing near her, Kikuno Saikawa, asked her.

"Ah, I really appreciate it, Kikuno." Mitsuru nodded.

But before Kikuno could even begin giving Mitsuru a shoulder massage, suddenly a voice came out from the intercom.

_"Milady, you have visitors,"_ the voice of a woman spoke through the intercom.

"Visitors? Around this time?" Mitsuru raised one eyebrow. "But I don't remember having any appointments with anyone today."

_"But…"_ the voice hesitated. _"They insist that they already made an appointment with you, milady. A personal appointment."_

"A personal appointment?" Mitsuru frowned. "Actually, I don't remember making any personal appointment either." She considered turning them away, but that would be impolite of her. After pondering about it for a while, she told the speaker through the intercom, "Very well. Please bring them here to my office."

"Milady?" Kikuno spoke, seemingly concerned.

"I know." Mitsuru nodded. "This is strange. Kikuno, is there any appointment that I am not aware of?" She asked the maid.

"Just give me a moment, milady." Kikuno took out a tablet, checking the database. Then, the maid frowned. "Yes, you're right. This is strange. You have no appointment, at least for today." She looked at the leader of Kirijo Group and Shadow Operatives anxiously.

"I know what you're feeling, Kikuno. I can only hope that this is just something trivial…" Mitsuru said. She had a bad feeling about this. She glanced at her drawer, which contained her Evoker. In any case if her suspicion was confirmed, then she would immediately open the drawer to pull out the summoning device. She could only hope that there would be no worst-case scenario which would force her to take out the Evoker.

When the door was opened, both Mitsuru and Kikuno saw the maid who was accompanying the guests. There were three of them. Then the maid excused herself.

The first to step in was a man, seemingly in late twenties, in a dark blue suit. His shoulder-length hair was tied into a ponytail. The man was smiling as he nodded to the other two who entered after him.

The second one was another man, whose long hair was red in color. Attired in dark red pinstripe suit, the man stepped into Mitsuru's office, smiling confidently. When the first man bowed at him, it was clear that the red-haired man was his superior.

The last one was a woman with silver braided hair. A beautiful woman, clad in a rather elegant blue dress with a red scarf wrapping around her neck, stepped into the office, and her expression seemed neutral. She stood beside the red-haired man in a dutiful manner.

And Mitsuru's suspicion was confirmed.

While her psychic power as a Persona-user was limited and wasn't as strong as Fuuka's, she was still able to see through their human-like appearances. Her Persona, Artemisia, had been giving her warning signals as soon as she set her eyes on them.

**[Not humans. These three are dangerous.]**

Immediately, Mitsuru reached to her drawer, opening it so that she could take out her Evoker, but the red-haired man's voice stopped her.

"If I were you, I won't do that for my own good, you know?" The red-haired man spoke in a rather jovial tone. Still, Artemisia continued giving her warning signals, telling her that out of these three, the red-haired man was the most dangerous one.

Eyeing the three inhuman guests before her warily, Mitsuru spoke, "Who are you? What are you?"

Kikuno had already drawn out a handgun. But it was more like for show and intimidation, because if her instinct was right, the bullets might be useless against them.

Seemingly unaffected by the presence of a firearm that was primed at them, the red-haired man shrugged. "Well, before that, we're sorry for this kind of intrusion. Believe me, we really mean no harm."

Mitsuru continued looking at these three individuals suspiciously.

"Ah, yes. Names, how can I forget that?" The man nodded, and the silver-haired woman beside him scoffed at him. "Very well, allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Great Satans. I'd say… nice to meet you, Mitsuru Kirijo, the leader of Kirijo Group, or should I say…" He smiled. "The leader of Shadow Operatives?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **What's up, everyone? This is me, Prince Arjuna! I'm sorry if I can no longer update this fic regularly anymore, but someone has to slow down too, correct? So, Labrys has really officially joined the cast, and I hope you'll like her portrayal in this fic. As usual, Rias still wants to make Aigis (and probably Labrys) to join her peerage, but I will say that Aigis will not join any other faction other than Shadow Operatives anytime soon, in any shape or form. So, don't worry if you're thinking that I may end up going for the 'unoriginal' route by turning the main protagonist into a Devil too. Boo hoo! And so, Mitsuru Kirijo and Sirzechs Lucifer finally meet each other. What will gonna happen? Tune in for the next chapter!

Once again, special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It is so nice working alongside you once again, partner!

Also, don't forget to leave some reviews too while you're at it! Review-deprivation may cause severe malnourishment, and worse, the death of an author's intellectuality. See you guys again in the next chapter, **Chapter 13: Sirzechs Lucifer.**

**What I have planned:** "Smile! This is what you truly are! You're contradicting yourself!"

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	13. Sirzechs Lucifer

"Sirzechs… Lucifer?" Mitsuru looked at the red-haired man who introduced himself with that name. Then she remembered Aigis' reports to her, and her expression tightened. "Are you… the Devils?"

Sirzechs chuckled good-naturedly. "Ah, I'm glad that you're already well aware of us, Kirijo-san. It'll make our discussion much easier." He saw Mitsuru taking out a metallic, pistol-like device from her drawer. "Didn't I tell you that if I were you, I wouldn't take it out?" He raised one hand, making a dismissive gesture. "I don't think you can even hurt us with that."

The silver-haired woman beside him scoffed at him.

Mitsuru forced herself to grin. "Are you perhaps looking down on me?" She asked, glaring at Sirzechs. "I apologize in advance, but most inhuman threats we have fought so far also thought quite less of us, yet we took them down."

"Oh, no, I'm not looking down on you, quite the opposite actually," Sirzechs said. "We're just here to talk." The red-haired Devil blinked a few times, as if realizing something, before he looked at the silver-haired woman beside him. "Grayfia, did I say something wrong just now? It's actually not my intention to rattle her."

The silver-haired woman, Grayfia, sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Sirzechs-sama, I believe we will have to work on how to phrase your words properly next time. Please allow me to take over from now on."

"B-but-" Sirzechs tried to protest but was silenced by Grayfia's glare.

"Let me handle this, Sirzechs-sama. Allowing you to continue may end up making your sister antagonize you" Grayfia spoke calmly.

"Y-yes, dear-" Another glare from Grayfia made Sirzechs do a hastily-made verbal backspace, "I-I mean, Grayfia."

Mitsuru, who was looking at the exchange before her, was confused. Then her attention was brought to Grayfia, who then cleared her throat before she spoke, "Our apologies, Kirijo-sama. We have no intention to cause any sort of harm to you or anyone in this building. We even tried our best to hide our demonic presence, yet we did not anticipate to have our demonic presence detected by you. Is this perhaps due to your abilities?"

Mitsuru looked at the woman suspiciously. When she thought about it, if the woman was telling her the truth, the moment when her Persona detected their inhuman presence, she was the one who showed the first sign of aggression, even though it was justified considering her experiences in dealing with supernatural beings.

"Believe us when we said that we only want to discuss something with you," Grayfia added. "We assure you that we will do no harm to anyone in this building."

Mitsuru studied Grayfia's expression. The silver-haired woman's face seemed calm and stoic, and Mitsuru was unable to tell whether she was telling her the truth or not. Even so, she believed that she was put in a rather disadvantageous position, and she thought that lashing out at them might bring grim consequences.

"Milady?" Kikuno spoke, her handgun was still aimed at the Devils in front of them, her voice uncertain. Mitsuru could see her hands that were holding the gun trembling slightly.

Unlike Mitsuru, Kikuno wasn't a Persona-user. She might be skilled in many fields, but she was still a normal human with human weaknesses. Mitsuru knew that making a reckless decision might compromise Kikuno's safety.

"Very well…" Mitsuru finally decided. "Kikuno, lower your gun. Let us hear what they have to say." Then, she looked at the Devils, still glaring at them. "But, in case you try to do something funny such as harming Kikuno or anyone in this building, then I will show no hesitation." The Devils could see Mitsuru's eyes glowing slightly, and they could feel the temperature in the office dropping. "Whether you are Devils or not, if you prove yourselves not to be trusted…" All the Devils could see frost starting to form in the room and their breaths could be visibly seen. "I shall fight you with everything I got."

All the Devils looked at the Persona-user, perplexed. They could tell that she was serious. There was no hesitation in her tone. Her expression seemed resolute. They were almost convinced that she alone was capable of standing against three of them at once.

Such a thought brought mild discomfort in Sirzechs' mind.

"Now…" Mitsuru said, sitting on her seat, looking at the Devils while holding her Evoker in one hand. "The reasons you are here, let us hear them."

Kikuno had already lowered her handgun, but there was a frown on her face. She was still holding the weapon in one hand as she looked at the Devils before them.

"Thank you, and yes, we shall explain our reason for coming here…" Grayfia spoke. "Sirzechs-sama, this is your turn." The expression she gave to the red-haired man seemed to say 'I already put the situation under control for you, so please don't screw it up'.

"Ah, yes, thank you very much, Grayfia," Sirzechs said, noting the silver-haired woman's look that was directed to him before he cleared his throat. "Ahem, well… how should I begin this? Ah, I believe that a proper reintroduction is in order. Like I said before, my name is Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Great Satans, ruler of the Underworld who bears the title 'Lucifer'." After a pause, he added, "I believe you already know that much already."

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. One of my operatives had sent me a report regarding the existence of the three biblical factions after an encounter with one of your own. From her report, I was able to learn about the conflict between all the factions as well as general information regarding the society of the Devils." She observed the crimson-haired Devil before her. "I believe your name was mentioned somewhere in the report."

"Ah, so Rias did mention my name, huh?" Sirzechs grinned when he said that. Grayfia gave the red-haired Devil a frown. Sirzechs cleared his throat and continued, "Well, putting that aside, after the encounter between one of your operatives and one of our own, we made a little bit of research. After all, after learning the existence of a group of humans with extraordinary powers, we, the Devils, couldn't help but be curious."

Mitsuru shot Sirzechs a suspicious look. "And the curiosity even compelled the leader of the faction to show up in front of me, I assume?" The Persona-user clasped her hands together, looking at Sirzechs. "I believe the reason is more than that."

For a while, Sirzechs was silent before he shrugged. "You're really sharp, aren't you? Well… let's just say the reason is more personal, but I didn't lie to you when I said we were curious about your group."

"Personal reason?" Mitsuru was about to ask Sirzechs about what the personal reason could be, but then she decided against it. She wasn't sure whether it was a good idea or not to disclose the information regarding their group to the Devils, but considering that she was in a rather disadvantageous position, she would like to avoid making a reckless decision that could endanger everyone in the building. "Very well. Let me hear your questions. Whether I answer them or not depends on the questions you will be giving to me."

Sirzechs smiled. "Hmm… we already know the general idea, but we'd like to know more beyond the surface. What's the truth behind the existence of the Shadow Operatives? For what purpose do you involve yourselves in the supernatural world? What have you been fighting against that we, the Devils, were not aware of?"

Hearing the questions, Mitsuru closed her eyes, thinking for the right answers. Then, she unclasped her hands, looking at the Devils. "So, you wish to know more about us?" After a pause, she nodded. "Very well. It's quite a long story, though it's not as grand as the conflict between the three biblical factions…" Letting out a sigh, she began, "It all started in 1999, when my grandfather started an experimentation on the creatures called the Shadows in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy…"

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD**

**Chapter 13: Sirzechs Lucifer**

"So, you asked for your brother's help to investigate these 'Shadow Operatives'?"

Rias Gremory sighed as she rearranged the documents on the table after hearing her Queen's question. Akeno was reading a piece of document regarding the thesis written by Takahisa Kandori regarding the artificial Persona-users while sitting on the couch in their clubroom.

"Actually, my brother offered to help me," Rias said. "When I was collecting all the information, he showed up and looked at what I was doing. He got curious and offered to help me…" She smiled blandly. "I couldn't exactly turn down his offer since I needed all the information I could get."

Akeno chuckled. "Well, one thing for sure is that Sirzechs-sama sure has quite a lot of free time…"

Rias sighed. "I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not, but… oh well, since my brother's helping, I guess this information-gathering is getting much easier. By collecting enough information about the Shadow Operatives, then I will be able to learn more about their objectives." Her blue eyes were gleaming with anticipation. "And if I play my cards right, I can even convince Aigis to join my peerage! Even better if her sister joins too!" She said gleefully.

Akeno smiled teasingly. "My, my… are Aigis-san and Labrys-san that desirable to you, Rias? Well, both of them are cute, so I can understand you." She covered her mouth with her hand, giggling.

Hearing Akeno's teasing, Rias' cheeks reddened. "T-that's not it! I-I just want them because they are strong!"

"Right, right, whatever you say, Buchou…"

"Geez…"

Done with teasing Rias, Akeno put down the document she was reading before she gave Rias a worried look. "But, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" She asked. "About asking for your brother's help, I mean."

"Hmm? What's wrong with asking for my brother's help?" Rias asked, confused.

"Well…" Akeno began. "I may probably end up saying something rude to you and your brother, so I'm sorry in advance. I want you to know that I respect Sirzechs-sama. Not only that he's one of the Four Great Satans, but also a war hero. And not to mention that he's insanely strong as a Devil, but…" Akeno looked at Rias, as if trying to phrase her words carefully. "When it comes to you, Sirzechs-sama can be, well… how do I say this? Reckless? No, that's too strong for a word…"

Rias understood what her Queen was trying to tell her, and she let out an exasperated sigh before she smiled forcefully. "I get what you're saying, Akeno. He's… well, your worry is not unfounded, I can assure you that. That is why Grayfia-san is with him. And for extra measure, they brought Okita-san with them."

"Oh… I-I see…" Akeno mused. "W-well, I suppose if Grayfia-san is with him, then they'll probably be alright. Maybe."

Rias smiled. "Yes. After all, she's the Strongest Queen." There was a hint of pride in her tone as she talked about her sister-in-law.

"Well, moving on…" Akeno said as she picked the thesis she was reading earlier. "What do you think about this?" She asked Rias, showing her the thesis.

"Ah, that? Well, it's a thesis about making Persona-users through artificial means, if I'm not wrong…" Rias said. "It's quite interesting, actually."

"Huh…"

Akeno continued reading the thesis while Rias put the rearranged documents on a table.

A black butterfly then fluttered about the air before perching on the teacup on the table. Akeno glanced at it before she shrugged and continued reading the thesis, ignoring the butterfly altogether.

The black butterfly was gone by the time Akeno continued reading the document in her hands.

* * *

Mitsuru wasn't sure whether she had made the right choice or not by telling the Devils a few things that led to the foundation of the Shadow Operatives, as well as a few things after the establishment of the group. All the Devils were listening to Mitsuru, sitting on their seats which were provided by Kikuno earlier. As for Kikuno, she was standing beside Mitsuru dutifully. She was still holding her handgun, though it was no longer primed at the intruders.

But, Mitsuru also believed that she could make an investment out of this encounter. After finding the journal left by Shuji Ikutsuki and learning the existence of supernatural entities, she wanted to learn more about these biblical factions. By gathering enough information regarding these factions, she could use them in order to protect the innocents from being involved in the centuries-old conflict between all the factions.

"And that's the gist of it, I suppose…" Mitsuru finished. She had told them the summary about their escapade back at 2009. While it wasn't fully-detailed, her explanation was enough for the Devils to understand that something definitely happened years ago, which prompted the Persona-users to form the Shadow Operatives. She also told them about their recent escapade at Yasoinaba, which was their encounter against Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, again not in full detail. She left out a few details because most of the details were either too personal to be told to a new, unknown party, or too exploitable to be shared, because the Devils might end up using the sensitive information against them.

"Quite a tale," Sirzechs commented. "Don't you think so, Grayfia?" He looked at Grayfia, who seemed to be mulling over the information they received from Mitsuru earlier.

"Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, huh?" The other man who was with Sirzechs and Grayfia muttered. "Ah, that name sure brings back memories. Most of them weren't pleasant."

"Okita, you know that name?" Sirzechs asked his Knight, Okita.

The Knight, Souji Okita, nodded. The former captain of Shinsengumi then said, "During the last days of my time as a human, I encountered that entity on my quest to find a way to prolong my life. An ancient deity that represents severing of the bonds and complete isolation, I encountered such an entity at the lowest point of my life." He smiled. "Well, thankfully I didn't succumb to its enticing offers of power and immortality since I eventually found you instead, Sirzechs-sama."

"I see…" Sirzechs mused. "Well… back to the topic in hand, I have to admit that I was surprised that there is another side of this supernatural world that I was not aware of. Now that I am aware of it," his expression turned serious, "is there any guarantee that such a thing will ever happen again?"

"As long as humanity cannot come to terms with the meaning of their lives, the hearts of men will always yearn for Nyx," Mitsuru stated. "That's the reason behind the establishment of the Shadow Operatives. We are here to make sure that humanity will survive, protected from either the outside threat or from itself."

"So, you are saying that you created Shadow Operatives so that you can protect humanity from destroying itself?" Sirzechs asked.

"Yes, but now that we are aware of other supernatural entities, it looks like our duties have been doubled," Mitsuru answered. "Humans tend to get tangled in the conflicts of larger schemes, and I will make sure that such a thing is to be avoided." She paused for a bit before she continued, "We are the Shadow Operatives, and we will fight to protect humanity at all costs, as humans."

Noting Mitsuru's choice of words, Sirzechs closed his eyes, thinking about the new information he received from the leader of the Shadow Operatives before he glanced at his Queen, Grayfia. Like him, the silver-haired woman also seemed to be deep in thought, as if digesting the newly received information. "I see." He smiled. "Thank you for enlightening us, Kirijo-san."

"What will you do with this new information?" Mitsuru asked.

"Ah, well… you don't have to worry. Like I said before, our visit here is just to appease our curiosity. There is no other ulterior motive behind it," Sirzechs said reassuringly.

"There is a reason behind the word 'devious', Lucifer-san," Mitsuru said calmly. "I cannot simply accept all your words at face value, considering that the origin behind the word 'devious' comes from the name of your race," she added.

"Now you're just getting stereotypical…" Sirzechs sighed. "Well, I can't deny that. The Devils are more or less a race of tempters and temptresses, after all." He smiled. "Even so, we have no intention to put any harm on you, or any humans you wish to protect. The reign of Old Devils is long gone, and the Devils currently are in the era of a new generation. We are no longer the bloodthirsty ones like most perceived." For an instant, Mitsuru could see a sign of weariness on the Devil lord's expression. It was an expression of someone who already had enough of violence and destruction. Even Artemisia could feel his weary aura. "I just… hate conflicts."

**[He is a man who simply wishes to settle down peacefully. The weariness in his heart is simply too palpable.]**

Mitsuru closed her eyes, listening to Artemisia's voice from within her mind. Then, she reopened her eyes, looking at Sirzechs. "Very well. Now, are there any more questions?"

"Hmm… I just want to make sure of something," Sirzechs began. "You sent away one of your operatives to observe the Devils to decide whether we are threats or not, is that correct?"

"Yes," Mitsuru answered without hesitation. "While you may pose no harm on humans, we still don't want to take any chances."

"Well, that's a little worrying, but we'll try our best to not be threats to humanity." Sirzechs smiled blandly. "Like I said before, I really hate conflicts."

His tone was sincere, and Mitsuru almost couldn't help herself but to believe it, but still, she steeled herself. "This is a decision that I must take, Lucifer-san. I really hate doing this, after learning many things about your people, but it has to be done." A self-deprecating smile showed up on Mitsuru's face. "After all, being a leader means having to make hard decisions."

Sirzechs couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I can understand that. I mean, I'd rather choose to live like a normal Devil instead of being the Great Satan, but-" Sirzechs stopped himself after hearing Grayfia coughing into her fist before he cleared his throat. "Well, I guess that's it for now." He got up from his seat. "And sorry for this… well, intrusion."

"Hmph, in case you ever wish to appease your curiosity again, why can't you just make an appointment beforehand?" Mitsuru asked, grousing a bit.

"We will keep that in mind," Sirzechs answered, smiling.

And so, the Devils finally left. A few minutes after they left, Mitsuru slumped herself on her seat, letting out a weary sigh while pinching the bridge of her nose. Then she put back her Evoker into her drawer.

"Good grief…" Mitsuru muttered, shaking her head.

"Milady," Kikuno spoke, standing beside Mitsuru. "Are you alright?"

"Well, besides the residue of a headache that came with nervousness, I'm mostly alright," Mitsuru answered. "What do you think, Kikuno?"

"About them?" The maid inquired.

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded.

"W-well… they certainly left quite a strong impression," Kikuno said.

"A strong impression?" Mitsuru looked at her maid before she sighed and then smiled wearily. "That's certainly a way to describe them."

Kikuno had already holstered her handgun. Throughout the encounter, she had been holding the handgun the entire time.

"I also feel the same…" Mitsuru said. "It's still too early to decide whether the Devils are threats to humanity or not, though." The leader of the Shadow Operatives clasped her hands together. "Still, certain measures have to be taken so that a decision can be made. Leaving everything to Aigis for a long time isn't really a good idea either."

"Well, Labrys-san is already with her, so she will be fine," Kikuno said reassuringly.

"Hmm… I suppose you are right, Kikuno." Mitsuru nodded. "Now… where's my aspirin?"

"Aspirin?" Kikuno blinked.

"Yes, aspirin. I believe I mentioned it before that I need it every time a major revelation rolls in." Mitsuru sighed. "And judging from the recent events, I will need a lot of them."

* * *

"This Mitsuru Kirijo is quite a remarkable person…" Sirzechs said as he walked alongside his wife, Grayfia, and his Knight, Okita, down the corridor towards the exit of the building. "She'll make a splendid Devil if she were to be turned into one."

"Sirzechs-sama…" Grayfia spoke. "Do you believe this is the right decision?" She asked. "I believe that Serafall Leviathan-sama is far more suitable in making first contact with them."

"Well… I did say before that I came here for a personal reason," Sirzechs said, smiling.

"You ought to stop spoiling your little sister too much, Sirzechs-sama," Grayfia deadpanned. "You are the Great Satan Lucifer. You cannot just personally help out Rias just because she is your sister."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with a big brother helping out his cute little sister, right?" Sirzechs reasoned.

Grayfia sighed. "You're a difficult person sometimes."

"And that's why you love me."

The silver-haired woman looked away, as if trying to hide her embarrassment from her husband.

Now that Grayfia wasn't in the mood of talking, Okita spoke to his King, "Even so, that is quite fascinating." He smiled, as if recalling something nostalgic. "Apparently stopping the end of the world with just a bunch of teenagers and fighting nigh-invulnerable deities, these Persona-users sure are something." He looked at Sirzechs. "I believe you have something on your mind, Sirzechs-sama."

Sirzechs smiled wryly. "Well, to tell you the truth, I have. When I heard about this group of humans with extraordinary powers, I saw a potential, a missing link." They had stepped out of the building. "Throughout the centuries of an uneasy truce between all three factions, Azazel, Michael and I have been trying our best to find a way to stop the conflict between the factions once and for all. All the plans we had devised fell apart before they could even begin. And now, an opportunity has presented itself before us, and this time, I will make sure to seize it before it can slip away from my hands." A determined expression showed up on the Devil lord's face.

"And what is your plan?" Okita asked, curious.

Sirzechs sighed. "Honestly, I'm not even sure. I'm probably grasping at straws here, thinking about ways for us to end the enmity between the factions once and for all." The Devil lord smiled bitterly. "And here I am, seeing hope in a group of humans with powers of unknown origins. I-"

He stopped when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked aside and saw Grayfia, who was still looking away, but she was pinching on the sleeve of his coat. Because she was looking away, Sirzechs couldn't see her face, but he was sure that she was blushing.

It was probably her way of saying 'You are not alone. I'm with you.'

Smiling, Sirzechs took Grayfia's hand, holding it gently while giving it a slight squeeze. The silver-haired Queen still looked away, still unwilling to show her husband her beet red face. Okita, being an onlooker, couldn't help but smile.

Soon after that, they teleported away, leaving the vicinity.

* * *

"Alright, it's done, Labrys," Fuuka said after she was done doing a maintenance check on Labrys. The ponytailed mechanical maiden got up before she put on her clothes. They were currently at Aigis' apartment, a place where Labrys was also currently living at. Fuuka lived next door to them.

"Thanks a bunch, Fuuka-san!" Labrys grinned at the young woman. "You're really skilled when it comes to mechanical stuff, don'tcha know?"

"W-well…" Fuuka scratched her cheek bashfully. "It happens that I'm rather skilled with mechanical things, is all. And I'm happy that I can help you with maintenance." She smiled at Labrys, her cheeks reddened a bit. "By the way, where's Aigis?" Fuuka asked.

"Sis? Ah, she's out…" Labrys answered. "Got somethin' to do out there. Probably meetin' with her friend or somethin'. She probably went out with Issei-kun, I think."

"Issei-kun?" Fuuka blinked a few times before she recalled their encounter the other day. "Ah, him."

She could vividly remember the vision she saw through Juno when she looked at Issei that day.

_-crimson, scaly hide gleams under the moonlight-_

_-the crimson emperor takes flight, and the world once again comes to learn the might of-_

"Fuuka-san?" Labrys went closer to Fuuka, who was spacing out. "Somethin' wrong, Fuuka-san? You're spacin' out." She shook the young woman's body gently, and she came back to her senses.

"Huh? Eh? Labrys? What's wrong?" Fuuka asked, confused.

"You were spacin' out just a while ago," Labrys said. "Somethin' on your mind?"

"W-well… it's probably nothing…" Fuuka shook her head. "I'm alright. There's nothing serious." She smiled at the ponytailed android girl, but Labrys narrowed her eyes, eyeing the young woman suspiciously.

"Ya definitely have somethin' on your mind…" Labrys said. "Ya definitely hidin' somethin' from me…"

"I-it's not like that! You don't have to worry about me, Labrys!" Fuuka exclaimed. "Oh, umm… s-sorry." She realized that she had raised her voice at Labrys.

"Oh, that's okay. My fault. Oh well, if there's nothin' to worry about, then it's cool." Labrys shrugged her shoulders. "So, I need to put myself on hibernate mode now, if ya don't mind."

"Ah, then I'll be going now, then." Fuuka gathered her things.

"Thanks for helpin' out again, Fuuka-san," Labrys said to Fuuka.

"Alright. See you later."

Fuuka left the apartment, and Labrys was alone. Sighing, Labrys put herself on the capsule seat, plugging in some wires. Then she set herself in hibernate mode. She closed her eyes. As an android, closing her eyes was unnecessary, but it was more like a habit for her to mimic humans.

And so, the mechanical maiden's virtual mind drifted away and she took her slumber.

* * *

_Once again, I was in this place, a place where I got to meet _him._ The reflective surface of the floor seemed to reflect the image of the cloudless sky above. Not too far from me, _he_ was standing still, his back facing me. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. Like usual, his blue bang covered one of his eyes, leaving only one exposed to be seen._

_I called out for him. I said his name._

_He looked behind, glancing over his shoulder. Then he turned around, and I could see his unhidden eye, steely grey in color, looking at me._

_Then, he smiled._

"It's been a while…"_ he spoke softly._ "Come. We have lots of things to talk about."

_I approached him and reached out for his held out hand._

"How are you? Are you well?"

_I nodded._

"Good."_ He smiled._ "Sit down. Let's talk."

_Unlike our previous meeting, this time, we talked about a lot of things. It was fun. We were sitting next to each other as we talked, holding each other's hand._

_There was nothing there except us, the cloudless sky, and the reflective floor._

"Why are you here?"

_I suddenly asked._

"Hmm? What's wrong with me being here?"

_He seemed confused._

"You shouldn't be here."

_He seemed to be contemplating about something, probably an answer to my question. After a while, he looked at me, smiling._

"Maybe I'm not really here."

"Hmm?"

_I shot him a questioning look._

"But still, you are here. I can feel your hand."

_He shrugged._

"Maybe it's just you imagining it. Who knows?"

_I puffed out my cheeks and pouted. He chuckled._

_Hearing his chuckle made me feel warm inside. I wished I could stay with him in this place forever. I didn't mind if I had to spend the rest of my life under the cloudless sky, above the reflective, mirror-like floor. As long as I was with him, I felt at peace._

_Still, I had to leave eventually._

_It pained my heart when we had to separate once again._

_Was this how _she _felt when they were separated? Actually, I could only speculate._

"Ah, it's about time. We'll meet again soon."

_He spoke as he let go of my hand. But then, I immediately grabbed his sleeve._

"W-will you… wait for me?"

_I asked as I grabbed his hand. He looked at me, smiling._

"Yes. I will wait for you."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise. But, will you also promise me something?"

_I blinked._

"Will you… live your life as best as you can? No matter what you are, please remember this…"_ He brought up his hand, stroking my cheek._ "You are a precious living thing. So, when the time is right…"

_He smiled sadly._

"Will you stop chasing after a ghost?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yo, it's me again, Prince Arjuna. So, this is Chapter 13 of the fanfic, Heart of a Butterfly, titled Sirzechs Lucifer. And this chapter is rather short than usual, because I've been planning for future events by putting a few hints here and there. If you squint hard enough, you will be able to see some hints, but let them be vague for now. And this chapter is also the last update of this year, 2014, and I would like to say 'Happy New Year' to all of you, and thank you for reading this tale. For this chapter too, I will also provide an info sheet. An info sheet will be provided each time I publish a short chapter.

Also, I would like to express my gratitude to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. Let's hope that we can work together next year too, okay?

So, see you guys again in the next chapter, **Chapter 14: Pallas Athena.** And don't forget to review, because being showered with reviews is a good thing to have during New Year. Until then, farewell.

**Encyclopedia Daemonica**

**Aigis/アイギス** _(Aegis, The Heartless Armed Angel, Ai-chan, Ghost in a Machine, 7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon)_

**Date of Birth:** _September 10th, 1999_

**Age:** _12_

**Height:** _162 cm (5'4")_

**Arcana:** _The Chariot, The Fool_

**Weapons:** _Firearms, combat knives_

**Specialty:** _Fighting, leadership, housekeeping, marksmanship, Persona, sarcasm_

**Affiliation:** _Shadow Operatives (Operative Number 5)_

**Description:** _An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon built by Kirijo Group in order to combat Shadows, Aigis was activated at 1999, during the creation of the Dark Hour. Originally monotonous and robot-like, she started becoming more human via interacting with the members of SEES. Currently serving as Operative Number 5 of Shadow Operatives, and is considered to be the strongest member of the organization due to her combat prowess, natural leadership ability, her Wild Card and the fact that she is far stronger than normal humans. As a Wild Card, like her predecessor and successor, she is capable of summoning multiple Personas, but because she is not powered by Death, her Wild Card ability is significantly weaker than her predecessor's._

**Persona(s):**

**Athena** _"A bit bossy and demanding, but she is a great teacher. The ancient goddess of wisdom and military prowess of Greek mythology, she is considered an adversary that shall be feared in the battlefield."_

**Orpheus** _"Quiet, just like his previous wielder. Very skilled with stringed musical instruments, as expected from the greatest poet and musician."_

**Palladion **_"A statue of Athena which symbolizes protection. Being a statue, she doesn't talk much."  
_

**Conall Cernach** _"Cocky yet very honorable, a legendary Irish warrior. Seems to know many things despite his apparent cockiness."_

**Galahad** _"A knight in shining armor, one of the knights of the Round Table, Galahad is known as the God's Knight on Earth, and is considered one of the greatest exorcists ever alive. Despite the illegitimacy of his birth, he is known for his pure heart."_

**Scathach** _"A legendary sorceress and teacher, she is known for her role as Cu Chulainn's mentor. She is the Ruler of Dún Scáith, the Land of Shadows. Extremely flirty and promiscuous, and is known for her 'friendship of thighs'._

**Pixie** _"A small humanoid creature that takes the shape of a beautiful female, she is a mischievous spirit of nature, and is capable of manipulating electricity."_

**Sylph** _"A small humanoid creature that takes the shape of a beautiful female, she is a mischievous spirit of nature, and is capable of manipulating wind."_

_"Did I succeed in protecting everyone?"_

**Edit:** A few edits. I hope you guys like this version more.

**Prince Arjuna (2014)**


	14. Pallas Athena

There was a clearing in the middle of a forest near a hill overlooking Kuoh Academy. Completely hidden from other people, it was a perfect location for those who wanted to do something that required a fair deal of secrecy – especially anything that couldn't have any witnesses.

"Too slow!"

"Gah!"

And it happened that having an android girl flinging a boy a few inches taller than her over her shoulder was the reason behind the secrecy. The boy fell unceremoniously onto the ground, landing on his rear end, eliciting a pained grunt from him.

"This is fifth time you failed to land a hit on me." Aigis said before she went to the downed Issei's side. She knelt beside him, showing the boy a concerned look. "Are you alright? I hope my throw did not hurt you too much, Issei-san."

Grimacing, Issei tried picking himself up. "Oww, my butt…" despite the pain, he grinned at the mechanical maiden. "Nah, it ain't that painful," he said as he stood up, dusting off his pants. "Still, you're amazing, Ai-chan. You didn't move much, but you threw me off my feet like it was nothing. How did you do that?"

Smiling at the boy, Aigis spoke. "As an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, I am also equipped with the standard melee-combat protocol in my database. I believe it can also be called as CQC, or Close Quarter Combat. This protocol allows me to efficiently disable my opponent without making excessive movements." She looked down on her gloved hand. "However, I prefer using firearms and ranged weapons than using this protocol."

"Wow. That sounds kinda complicated, but it's awesome too!" Issei said enthusiastically. "No wonder you're strong, Ai-chan!" He took a few steps away from Aigis before he adopted a fighting stance. A crimson gauntlet with an emerald jewel embedded on it covered his left arm, as he prepared himself. "Now, let's start again!"

Nodding, Aigis also prepared herself. Unlike Issei, she did not assume a fighting stance, but she lowered her body as she looked at Issei, who was a few meters away from her. "You can attack me anytime you want, Issei-san. I am ready."

"Alright!" Issei dashed over Aigis' direction, his gauntleted fist clenched. He went in front of her, aiming a punch at her. Easily, Aigis sidestepped, dodging the punch, before she used the momentum of Issei's movement to push him down to the ground.

"Guh!" Issei fell face first onto the ground before the mechanical maiden planted her knee on his back. She didn't apply too much force on it, as she just merely pushed him to the ground, using her knee to prevent the boy from getting back up.

"I believe that was the sixth try." Aigis said. "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"Oww…" Issei grunted. "Not yet…" he clawed on the ground. "I have to grow stronger…" he said as he clenched his fists. "I have to grow stronger, so that I can protect my friends…" he tried to get up despite Aigis' knee being planted on his back. "Losing Asia-chan once is enough. I can't accept losing her for the second time. Or anyone else, for that matter. Never…"

Seeing that Issei struggled to get up, Aigis moved her knee away from Issei's back and helped him to get back on his feet.

"I understand…" Aigis said gently. "It is admirable to desire power in order to protect those who are precious to you. It is also the same for me too." She placed her hand on her chest as she smiled at Issei. "In order to protect everyone, I also desire power. By growing stronger, protecting others is something that can be done more easily. That is why I am willing to assist you, however small my role is. If you believe that my assistance can be a great help for you to become much stronger, then I will gladly assist you."

"Ai-chan…" Issei looked at Aigis before he grinned and nodded. "Thanks! I know I can count on you!" Then, he looked aside, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "A-and… I also want to protect you too. I-I mean, you're my friend, right? S-so… it should be alright if I try to become stronger - so I can protect you too, right?"

Aigis blinked and tilted her head. "Hmm… I appreciate the sentiment, Issei-san, but I do believe that I can protect myself just fine."

"W-wait, I mean… I wanna protect you too!" Issei said. "W-well, it's probably true that you're strong. Stronger than me, even. But, in case if you're ever in trouble, then I'm gonna protect you!" There was a serious look on the perverted boy's face. "I'm gonna protect you with everything I got!"

Aigis looked at Issei's face for a few moments before she giggled. She covered her mouth with her gloved hand as she did that.

"D-did I say something funny?" Issei asked, confused.

"It's nothing…" Aigis said, smiling at Issei. "I'm just glad, Issei-san. I'm glad that someone's willing to protect me too. Very well. In case if I were in trouble, will you come to rescue and protect me?" Aigis asked.

"Of course!" Issei pounded his chest with his gauntleted fist. "You can count on me, Ai-chan!"

"Thank you," Aigis said softly. "I'm very glad."

Then, she took a few steps away from Issei.

"Very well. Let us start again. Come at me, and try to hit me with everything you have, Issei-san!" Aigis said. Her voice was significantly louder than before. Perhaps she was in a great mood.

"Alright! I'm gonna show you what I got!" Issei shouted, clenching his gauntleted fist, the emerald gem on the back of the crimson gauntlet glimmered majestically before he rushed towards Aigis, preparing to attack her with a punch. "Graah!"

"Initiating standard melee-combat protocol," Aigis said. This time, she adopted a fighting stance as she raised both hands, bracing herself for another attempt from Issei to attack her.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 14: Pallas Athena**

Not too far from Aigis and Issei, a picnic blanket was spread on the ground. There were three people enjoying themselves with foods, as they watched Aigis flinging Issei over her shoulder yet again after delivering a palm strike under the boy's chin.

One of the spectators, Yuuto Kiba, flinched, when Issei landed on his back with a loud thud on the ground after being thrown by the android girl, who showed little effort in doing so. "…I hope that didn't hurt much." Kiba said before he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Hawawawa!" Another of the spectator, Asia Argento, was panicking when Issei fell. She was watching both Aigis and Issei spar nervously, and whenever she saw Issei being downed by the android girl effortlessly, she couldn't help but worry. She also showed a conflicted expression on her face. She couldn't decide whether to cheer for Aigis, or for Issei.

The third one, Koneko Toujou was silently eating her seventh serving of sandwich while watching the fight between the two. Whenever Issei was flung over Aigis' shoulder, she also flinched before she observed the perverted boy's body unceremoniously falling onto the ground.

"Even so, she's very good." Kiba said after he finished his sandwich. "Aigis-san, I mean. There's no excessive movement from her part, and all her moves are done efficiently." After that, he shrugged. "It's probably because of her robot stuff or something." He added.

"Yeah, you're right, Kiba-san…" Asia said, nodding. "Still, how did it turn out like this? I mean, Issei-san just wanted to ask her how to fight properly." She flinched again when Issei was thrown onto the ground again, this time via a suplex. "B-but all he did was get beaten down by Aigis-san…"

Kiba smiled at the ex-nun. "I believe Issei's trying to figure out the right way to fight by feeling all Aigis-san's attacks with his body. That way, his body can memorize all the attacks, and he will be able to use them instinctively because he'll remember them. Or at least, that's what I thought…" he looked at them again. "Still, it definitely hurts, I can say that for sure."

Aigis blocked Issei's gauntleted punch before she grabbed Issei's body and made another suplex.

"Yeah, that certainly hurts…" Kiba grimaced. "But I'm sure this is his way to get stronger." He smiled. "I probably should train harder too."

"S-so… he did all this because he wants to become stronger?" Asia asked before she looked down. "He's working so hard. Issei-san sure is amazing…" she mumbled softly. "Compared to him, I… I can't do much." She held out one of her hand, and a ring appeared on her finger.

It was her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, or at least what was left of it. When Raynare extracted her Sacred Gear from her, Twilight Healing wasn't completely taken out, and she still retained a small fragment of its power. The extraction process managed to kill her even though it didn't completely remove the Sacred Gear from her. Due to that, it was weaker and less potent than before. It could be said that she only retained one eighth of Twilight Healing's original power. One could even see a few cracks on the surface of the ring, indicating its incompleteness.

"W-why… why did Buchou revive me?" Asia muttered in all of a sudden. "I no longer have the same power as before, s-so… I should be useless for the group."

Kiba gave Asia a concerned look.

"I mean, I'm grateful to be alive again, b-but… I can't even heal properly anymore…" Asia said with sadness, despite the smile on her face. "I-I'm afraid I'm going to be a burden for everyone…"

Kiba let out a soft sigh before he patted Asia's head. "I don't think that's really the case, Asia-san." Then, he pulled back his hand and looked up to the sky. "You see, back then when I was still a human, I was dying in the middle of nowhere. There's snow everywhere. I thought I was definitely going to die. Or I might have died at that time. I'm not so sure. And then, Buchou showed up. She revived me using her Evil Piece, and I was reincarnated as a Devil…" he gave Asia a wry smile. "When she revived me, she didn't even know that I could use Sacred Gear. She revived me because she thought I was going to die."

Asia looked at Kiba with a sad look. She was visibly affected by what the blond boy had told her.

"So, when she revived you, I believe she wanted to save you too." Kiba told Asia reassuringly. "It's the same like my situation."

"B-but Buchou told me she revived me to keep Issei-san's morale!" Asia protested. "S-she didn't want him depressed, so she revived me…"

Kiba shrugged. "I think that's what she wanted you to believe. A King has to keep up appearance too, you know?"

Asia seemed conflicted before she nodded slowly. Koneko continued having her sandwich, which happened to be her seventeenth serving. Then, they continued watching the spar between Aigis and Issei. This time, Issei was getting better than before as he managed to avoid getting thrown over Aigis' shoulder, but he left his right side exposed, and the mechanical maiden seize the chance by attacking his right side.

A few seconds later, Issei was on the ground, defeated pretty soundly by Aigis.

Seeing that Issei was sprawling on the ground, Aigis went to her side and kneeled beside him. "Issei-san, I believe this is your seventeenth attempt already. Let us take a break, shall we?"

"Urgh… y-yeah, l-let's take a break…" Issei grunted. "Oww, my tailbone!"

"I apologize! I got excited when you managed to avoid my strike, and I forgot to hold back." Aigis spoke. "Here, please take my hand. I will have Asia-san treat your injuries."

Aigis assisted the perverted boy to get up on his feet and brought him to Asia, who used her Sacred Gear to heal his injuries. While her healing power might have been diminished thanks to the extraction ceremony, she was still able to heal minor injuries without problem.

"Turning into a sandbag must hurt, from what I can see…" Kiba said, observing Asia treating Issei's bruises from the fight. "Still, you're pretty strong, Aigis-san." He looked at Aigis, who was adjusting her black Chesterfield coat and red necktie.

"It's not much compared to my sister, Labrys." Aigis said, shaking her head. "Unlike me, she was specifically built as a power-user, while I am a jack-of-all-trades. As an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, my speed, defense, power and reflexes are average, while Labrys' defense and power are outstanding, even for ASW's standard. In exchange to that, she has to sacrifice her speed, however."

"I see…" Kiba mused.

"She's more like a Rook." Koneko spoke.

"Rook?" Aigis raised one eyebrow as she looked at the white-haired petite girl.

"Ah, yeah…" Kiba said. "Well, we already told you about Evil Pieces, right?"

Aigis nodded. "Affirmative. From what Gremory-san had told me, Evil Pieces are some sort of artifacts that allow other beings to be reincarnated into Devils." She remembered that the reason behind the creation of Evil Pieces was to replenish the number of Devils after the Great War that had caused countless deaths from every faction. Created and developed by one of the Great Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub, Evil Pieces were something essential to ensure the survival of Devil species.

"Yup, that's right. Each Evil Piece has its own attribute, which reflects on those who are reincarnated. For example, I'm a Knight, and my special attribute is speed in exchange of defense. And Koneko-chan here is a Rook," he gestured at Koneko before he continued, "Whose speciality is her strength and defense. She has to sacrifice her speed, though."

Aigis looked at Koneko. While Koneko might be small, she had seen what she was capable of before, back at the time when she encountered the stray Devil Gremda and at the cathedral. For someone small like her, she sure packed quite a punch.

"I assume Asia-san is a Bishop," Aigis said, glancing at Asia who was busy healing Issei's bruises.

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, you're right about that. Bishops specialize in magic, and it happens that Asia-san can heal." Then, he held out his hand as he continued his explanation. "As for Akeno-san, she's a Queen. Well, let's just say that she has all the attributes of a Knight, a Rook and a Bishop."

"I see…" Aigis mused. "Issei-san?" She already had an idea about which piece that was used for Issei, but she would like a confirmation about it.

"Well, he's a Pawn. Normally speaking, a Pawn is the weakest piece among the pieces, but it has a special attribute that allows a Pawn to be promoted into a Queen, a Knight, a Rook or a Bishop in enemy territory." Kiba explained. "And thanks to Issei's Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear, Buchou had to use all her Pawn pieces in order to reincarnate him into a Devil. Well, she really didn't know about that at that time, and Buchou thought that when she resurrected him, he's a special case. It turned out that she was right all along." He shrugged. "He's the possessor of one of the Longinus, so that should have been expected."

"A Longinus?" Aigis tilted her head, blinking a few times. "A question, Kiba-san. Does a Longinus refer to the spear used by Saint Longinus to stab the crucified Jesus Christ?"

"Ah, well… you see, I'm not really the right person to answer that, but I guess I'll try," Kiba said. "The Longinus are the Sacred Gears that are believed to be capable of killing gods and bodhisattvas, and there are thirteen of them so far." The blond boy said as he glanced at Issei. "And one of the Longinus belongs to Issei." After a pause, he continued, "And all these Sacred Gears are specifically named after the True Longinus, the spear that was used to stab Jesus Christ."

While Aigis was listening to Kiba, Asia had finished her healing.

"Thanks, Asia-chan!" Issei said happily. "As usual, awesome job!" He held out his hand and patted the ex-nun's head.

Blushing, Asia stuttered, "I-it's alright! I-I just did what I had to do!" The girl's cheeks were turning redder and redder, to the point where it might seem unhealthy for her, unless if one of her ancestors was part-tomato. Or strawberry. Or any red fruits out there.

"Don't sell yourself short, Asia-chan! You're amazing!" Issei said as he kept on praising Asia's ability.

"Hawawa…"

Not even being part-tomato could be a plausible explanation of her reddening face. It seemed that her head might explode due to high blood pressure anytime soon.

As for Kiba and Aigis, who were the onlookers of this particular scene, they were smiling. Even Koneko smiled.

Soon after that, Aigis went to talk to Issei about his training, in order to give him her assessment.

"How do you feel now, Issei-san?" Aigis asked.

"Uh, well… I won't exactly call 'getting tossed around' a good experience," Issei shrugged. "But I guess I got something out of it. And thanks to Asia-chan," he patted Asia's head. "I feel better now." He grinned, and the ex-nun blushed again.

"I see. Good." Aigis nodded. "I can see that you have improved. Still, allow me to give you my assessment. When you were trying to attack me, you were too focused on the offense, ignoring the need to defend altogether." She said as she looked at Issei, whose expression turned rather sheepish. "Defense and offense are two important aspects in battle, and one has to make use of them. If you are too focused on the offense, then you won't be able to do much against the enemy's counterattack. And if you are too focused on the defense, you may end up prolonging the battle, tiring yourself out along the way."

"Uh… w-well…" Issei awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Despite that, I believe that you have potential to grow even stronger, Issei-san." Aigis said, smiling at the boy. "It's just that you lack finesse and skills to fight effectively."

"S-so, umm… what will you suggest me to do?" Issei asked, his tone sounded uncertain.

"I already have a plan for that. I am sure this plan may work. All you have to do is to have a teacher." Aigis said.

"A teacher?" Issei blinked a few times, confused.

"Yes. A teacher." After nodding, Aigis closed her eyes before her body was wreathed in azure glow. Then, a figure started manifesting itself beside the mechanical maiden. The figure took the shape of a beautiful woman, clad in white, flowing dress, adorned with golden accessories and shoulder guards. She also wore a plumed war helmet, which covered the upper half of her head, as well as a pair of bronze sandals that reached up to her calves.

Standing regally in front of everyone, Pallas Athena removed her helmet, fully exposing her face. There was a notable absence of her signature weapons; her barbed spear as well as the great round shield, the Aegis. As she looked at the perverted boy in front of her with her intense grey eyes, the goddess of wisdom spoke. "It's been a while, boy."

Issei was awestruck as Pallas Athena addressed him. He had seen her before, back at the clubroom, but now that he was given a chance to speak with her, he was mystified by her inhuman beauty. And one thing that Issei realized about her was her rather impressive bust, or goddess' Oppai, as he might call.

"I know that sort of look, boy…" Pallas Athena frowned. "Odysseus used to give me that look whenever I dropped my disguise and showed him my godly appearance." She folded her arms under her chest, further emphasizing her shapely feature. "I am willing to tolerate your display of perversity for the time being, but if you dare to do something unsightly on me, then I shall deliver an appropriate divine punishment upon you. Be thankful that I give you this warning beforehand. Did I make myself clear, boy?"

Issei gulped. While he would like to cop a feel, he definitely didn't want to experience the divine punishment from the goddess. "L-loud and clear, ma'am!"

Smiling, Athena spoke, "Good boy. Now, about what we are going to do…" she glanced at Aigis. "The girl here suggested me to be your teacher on how to fight effectively. It happens that I am quite a decent mentor, with me being the goddess of wisdom and warfare." Smiling confidently, she added, "I have quite a lot of things I can teach you, boy. Consider yourself lucky."

When Athena was done, Aigis spoke, "Just like what she said. Athena will be teaching you how to fight. While she's not the original Athena, she still has her memories. She probably has a lot of things she can teach you."

Pallas Athena gave Aigis a frown. "I dislike the way you describe me, girl." She said with a huff. "Especially with that 'probably'. Are you perhaps doubting my ability, little girl?"

"I certainly never doubt your ability, Athena." Aigis said. "Let us not focus on your swelling pride and instead on the most important thing here, shall we?" She focused on Issei. "Like I said, Athena will be teaching you how to fight with finesse. Considering that my fighting skills are more like preprogrammed standard close-combat protocol, it is probably unsuited for others."

Athena smiled proudly. "And it happens that as the goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, I have quite a lot of knowledge regarding the martial arts. First, let me teach you the basics of pankration…" her golden accessories and shoulder guards magically disappeared, leaving her with sleeveless white Greek dress.

"Pan… kration?" Issei shot the goddess a confused look. "W-what… is that?"

"It is ancient Greek unarmed martial art…" Pallas Athena said. "Many ancient Greek heroes used this when their weapons were unavailable. And considering that you primarily use your fists in a fight, pankration is definitely a suitable fighting style for you."

"O-okay," Issei said. "Alright, I guess I got it. So, how do we begin, Athena-sensei?"

"Sensei?" Pallas Athena blinked. While she definitely knew the meaning behind the word, it was her first time being addressed as such. It definitely caught her off-guard. "Ah. Let us begin by seeing your stance first. We have to see whether you are capable of withstanding your opponent's attack with that stance or not."

While Pallas Athena was mentoring Issei, Aigis left them be, approaching the others.

"Pankration, huh?" Kiba muttered as he observed Athena correcting Issei's stance.

Aigis nodded. "Yes. It happens that Athena knows about pankration, which is obvious, considering that she's a Greek goddess. But the better choice has to be Herakles, or other Greek heroes, or probably Chiron. Sadly, none of those Personas are available to me just yet. I can feel them in my sea of soul, but they are somehow blocked by an invisible wall of sorts." The mechanical maiden sighed.

Kiba looked at Aigis. "Umm…there's something I'm curious about your power, Aigis-san. It's about the Personas. You told me that the Personas are the manifestations of self that take the appearances of mythological and legendary figures, right? How many Personas do you have, actually?"

Aigis seemed bashful when she answered Kiba's question. "Well, I actually have more than three hundred Personas in my repertoire. Yet due to certain reasons, I can only summon a handful of them at the moment. I was capable of summoning all of them for a time due to the circumstances, but now, I have to unlock them one by one. What's with the question, Kiba-san?" The mechanical maiden asked.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Kiba said. "It's just that I've been wondering if you have some sword-wielding legendary heroes to summon as Personas or something like that."

"If you're wondering about that, I certainly have some," Aigis nodded.

"Really?" Kiba looked curious.

"Yes. Among the active ones, I have Galahad, one of the Knights of Round Table. It is said that besides being a Knight serving under King Arthur, he's also an exorcist. A very powerful one, actually." Aigis said.

"An exorcist, huh…"

Aigis realized that Kiba looked away, as if hiding his changing expression. But after a while, the blond boy looked back at her, smiling.

"I see…" Kiba mused.

Thinking that she might just be imagining it, Aigis continued. "Besides him, I also have more of them who are still locked away." Aigis began listing the names of sword-wielders among her Personas to Kiba. The blond boy listened to her, seemingly curious.

While Aigis was busy telling Kiba about her powers, both Asia and Koneko were watching Issei getting berated by Athena while the goddess was instructing him.

"You think you can withstand an attack with that sloppy stance, boy?! You're nothing but a stack of cards at this rate! Now, withstand this!"

"W-wait, Sensei! T-that's just too fast! I- urgh!"

"Just one punch and you're down? Pathetic! Stand up and face me! You are a man, are you not?!"

"H-how do I suppose to withstand your punch if you don't give me time to prepare?!"

"Do you believe your enemy will be giving you enough time to prepare, boy?! Don't be sloppy and take it like a man!"

"W-wait a mi- urgh!"

"Again?! How pathetic! Do you wish to make the ground your bed, boy?! Training is far from over! Stand up and take whatever I am going to throw at you!"

As both Koneko and Asia were watching Pallas Athena pummeling the poor boy, the ex-nun glanced at Koneko. "Umm… are you sure he'll be alright?" She asked uncertainly.

Koneko was silent as she observed both Athena and Issei before she looked at Asia and shrugged. Then she continued watching them.

* * *

Rias was at her home, talking with her brother, Sirzechs Lucifer via a magic circle. The Great Satan told his little sister about his encounter with the leader of the Shadow Operatives, mostly about the secret organization itself.

"So… they really do have their own adventures, huh?" Rias mused to herself. "Honestly, I didn't expect that. I mean, I never heard of such a thing before."

Sirzechs grinned at his little sister. "A supernatural world is far bigger than one can possibly imagine, Rias. When you get to live for a long time, you will be able to accept things for what they are, despite how sudden and unexpected they can be."

"Still, after hearing that from you, I…" Rias looked away, bringing her hand to her chin. Despite learning most things about the elusive organization Aigis belonged to, she couldn't find any point that she could use in order to convince the mechanical maiden to join her peerage. "I'm not sure if I can find a way to convince her to join my group."

"Oh? Is there anything else my dear little sister wants me to do?" Sirzechs asked.

Rias scoffed. "There's no need for that, Nii-sama. You've done a lot to me already. And you're the Great Satan Lucifer, you shouldn't focus on me alone." She sighed. "Even so, thank you. You're really a really great help, Nii-sama." She smiled at her big brother.

Sirzechs seemed satisfied and was elated when Rias expressed her gratitude to him. "Don't mention it. It's just a big brother's job to help his cute little sister, you know?" Then, his expression turned serious. "But, there's something I'd like to remind you, Rias. While I understand why you want one of their members to be in your peerage, remember to thread this matter carefully." There was a strange look on the Great Satan's face. "They don't think rather highly of us, to put it rather mildly."

Rias listened to her big brother. She still remembered what Aigis had told her before. She said that she dedicated herself to protect mankind from any sort of threat, whether from the outside or from itself. And considering that they had already faced inhuman threats several times, which might give them an unpleasant impression to most supernatural beings out there. In this case, Rias sure needed to make use of her skills in diplomacy. And she also needed to present herself and her peerage as a non-threatening party to her.

It was difficult, but if she used her cards right, she believed that she might be able to pull it off.

"So, I guess that's all for now. And good luck, Rias." And so, the conversation between the siblings ended. Rias let out a soft sigh before she went to her bed and plopped herself into it.

With everything that she had learned, she had to figure out the ways to convince Aigis that joining her wouldn't be so bad. If things could go better, she might be able to convince Aigis' sister, Labrys, as well. As she imagined those two android girls being among the ranks within her peerage, she broke into a smile. She imagined that it would be a great boon for her peerage to have those girls with them.

* * *

While Rias was thinking of ways to get Aigis and Labrys to join her peerage, Sirzechs was sitting alone in his room, seemingly mulling about something. After a while, a silver-haired woman in maid uniform entered the room. Her expression was neutral as she spoke to the red-haired Devil. "Sirzechs-sama, have you finished speaking with your sister? The meeting with the other Great Satans will start one hour from now."

"Ah, yes. I already finished. Thank you for reminding me, dear." Sirzechs said, getting up from his seat.

The silver-haired woman, Grayfia, furrowed her brow as she looked at her husband. "Do I have to remind you to address me accordingly and properly?" Despite that, one could see a faint shade of crimson on Grayfia's cheeks.

Sirzechs shrugged. "Well, it's just two of us here. In private, I'm free to call you 'dear' as much as I want."

Grayfia sighed. "Seriously, what a difficult man you are, Sirzechs-sama."

The Great Satan grinned. "A difficult man whom you fell in love with, that's what."

Coughing into her fist while ignoring her reddening cheeks, Grayfia spoke. "Putting the matter aside, what will be your next course of action? Are you going to share your finding with the rest of the Great Satans?" She gave Sirzechs a questioning look. "I do have a feeling that Serafall Leviathan-sama will not be pleased if you inform her that you made a first contact with those group without her knowing it."

"I'll deal with that as soon as she voices out her complaint." Sirzechs said. "But I'm sure she'll understand once I explain everything to her, as well as to Ajuka and Falbium." There was a sad look on his face. "Like me, they also desire peace. That was why we toppled the Old Satan and seized control. Like I said, this is our chance, a chance to create an everlasting peace between all factions. I believe if Azazel and Michael were to be presented with the same chance, they will also think of the same thing as well."

Sirzechs let out a tired sigh. The weariness was made apparent, Grayfia couldn't help but to notice it. Standing before her was no longer a Great Satan, but a survivor of two wars that had claimed countless lives. She recognized the look in his eyes, because she also saw the same look back then, when they were alongside each other during the aftermath of the bloodshed during the civil war among the Devils. After a while, the silver-haired maid stepped forward, going closer to her husband before she held out her hand to hold his.

"The idea of peace of yours…" Grayfia spoke softly. Her tone was evidently different than before as it sounded gentler and warmer. "I share it with you as well, dear. Please remember that through thick or thin, for better or worse, this Grayfia Lucifuge will always be by your side. The vision of yours will be made reality, and we will see them together."

As both husband and wife stared into each other's eyes, Sirzechs smiled. "Thank you, Grayfia."

After a while, Grayfia let go of Sirzechs' hand and took a few steps back. She straightened her back, and her expression returned back to neutral. "Sirzechs-sama, let us depart. You still have to prepare for the meeting."

"Yes. I'm glad to have you by my side, dear."

Grayfia scoffed, but then smiled before she helped Sirzechs to prepare himself. Sirzechs himself thought that once he's done with the meeting, he might have to take his time to send some letters to Azazel and Michael regarding his new finding. From there, their plan would begin.

* * *

Back at the training ground, Pallas Athena was training Isse. Apparently the pummeling done by the goddess seemed to work, as Issei started improving himself. He was no longer sent flying by Athena's punches anymore, and he was capable of blocking her strikes.

"You're improving, boy!" Athena said. "But don't expect your opponent to throw punches and kicks alone! Hah!" She closed the distance between her and the boy, aiming to throw a punch right onto his face. Issei brought up both his arms, crossing both of them in front of his face in order to protect himself. He also took a few steps back in order to lessen the blow.

Unfortunately for Issei, the punch was merely a feint. Using her sandaled foot, Athena delivered a kick right onto his gut, and the force of the kick was enough to send the perverted boy flying.

"Grkh!"

The boy was on the ground, groaning in pain as he brought his hands to his stomach. Thanks to his resilience as a Devil, he was mostly alright. If he were still a human, the kick might have caused a serious internal damage on him.

"Down already? What a shame." Athena went to the downed boy. "Still, you manage to withstand my attacks for more than ten minutes, which is far better than before." She smiled. "Here, take my hand, boy. We are taking a break."

Still groaning, Issei got up with the help of the goddess. Asia immediately went to his side and started pouring healing aura on him in order to heal his injuries. Aigis, Kiba and Koneko also approached him.

"Well, this is more like a one-sided beatdown than anything, if I have to be honest," Kiba said. "Still, I can see Issei getting even better than before." He looked at Athena. "As expected from the goddess of wisdom herself."

Pallas Athena huffed as she folded her arms under her chest. "There is a reason why one of my nicknames is The Mentor. I pride myself as a teacher and an instructor."

As for Koneko, she looked at Issei who was healed by Asia. She was curious about this pankration. From what she had seen, it was a combination of boxing and wrestling, with kickboxing mixed in as well. As a martial artist herself, she couldn't help but to be curious about what she had seen.

"You okay there, Issei?" Kiba asked.

Scowling, Issei answered, "It could be worse. Still, I need to recover so we can continue the training." He looked at Athena. "Sensei, can we continue after this?"

Pallas Athena was positively surprised, but then, she smiled. "Why of course. I also have a few things to teach you as well after this. And considering that you are a possessor of Boosted Gear, I'm sure you will like it."

"Alright, that sounds awesome." Issei grinned. Despite being pummeled several times by the goddess, he liked her way. Whenever he made a mistake, she would make an effort to correct him. And most of her instructions were easy to understand. Granted, if one's instructions were literally beaten into your body, they would be. And in addition to that, whenever she grappled with him, he could feel her breasts. The feeling of having her big, soft breasts being pressed against his body brought a mixture of pleasant feeling within the perverted boy.

"Boy… I know that kind of look…" Athena noticed the perverted look on Issei's face. "While I said that I will overlook your display of perversity, I do not appreciate that look on your face." She scowled.

"Pervert." Koneko said, agreeing with the goddess.

"Well, it is safe to assume that they are getting along just fine." Aigis commented.

* * *

Meanwhile, without any of them noticing it, there was a man clad in a rather luxurious pinstripe suit, floating in the air. He seemed to be wearing a pair of leather shoes with small, mechanical wings attached on them.

He was observing the people in the middle of the clearing of the forest below. His gaze was mostly focused on the woman in sleeveless white Greek tunic who was lecturing one of the boys.

The man smiled.

"Finally, I have found you, sister…"

Hermes spoke to himself as he continued observing the group.

"Truly, the lost child of Olympus has returned."

* * *

It was already late at night, and there were two girls dressed in Kuoh Academy's school uniform, running frantically through the dark alleys in the city. Apparently, they were trying to escape from something that had been pursuing them.

"C'mon, this way, Lisa-chan!" A girl with lavender-colored, shoulder-length hair, spoke to her companion as they ran together, holding each other's hand.

"Miu-chan, not too fast!" The other girl, Lisa, whose brown hair was chin-length, gasped for air.

"We cannot stop! Or else he'll get us!" Miu said.

As they ran, they suddenly heard an explosion right behind them.

"Eek!" Lisa shrieked, bringing her hands to her head, ducking. "W-what was that?!"

"Oh no…" Miu looked behind her. "This is bad. He's catching up." She looked at Lisa. "You go on ahead! I'll try to slow him down!"

Lisa was surprised by her friend's suggestion. "No! We'll go together! If you stay here, you'll die!" She cried.

Miu smiled and patted Lisa's head. "Don't worry. I'll try to slow him down so you can escape. I'll live, believe me." Then, she turned to face the direction where their pursuer would be coming from. "Now, go! Make sure to inform our master and the rest of the members of peerage!"

"Y-yeah! Stay safe, Miu-chan!" And so, Lisa ran away.

When Lisa was already gone, Miu clenched her fists before magic circles started forming on both her hands. A pair of leathery wings emerged from her back as she stood her ground. Soon after that, she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching, and she tightened her jaw as she braced herself to face her pursuer to slow him down.

"Oho? A kitty-cat is staying behind? I'm impressed!" Said a jovial, high-pitched voice before a white-haired man clad in clerical uniform showed up. He seemed to be holding a glowing sword while sporting a face-splitting grin. His red eyes were focused on Miu as he approached her.

Taking a few steps back, Miu brought up her hands. "S-stay back!"

"Ah, so you're stayin' behind to delay me, ain'tcha?" The white-haired man spoke. "Well, that's admirable of ya, but it's useless. 'Cause you're gonna die here."

"I'll kill you first…" Miu growled.

"After I kill you, I'm gonna rape you too." The white-haired man added, grinning, and Miu let out a frightened squeak. "Now, if you don't wanna die painfully, give it up. I'm kinda merciful tonight."

"D-die!" Miu fired a flame blast towards the man, and fired another for extra measure. The fire blast would be enough to reduce a man into dust. But, much to her surprise, the man emerged unharmed. There was an amused smirk on the man's face. "H-how…?"

"It's my turn now."

With a snap of his fingers, Miu saw something moving in a blur. Before she could even do anything, it was already over. It took her a few seconds to realize that her whole body was missing, save for her head.

And everything turned dark.

* * *

"Ah... hah…" Panting heavily, Lisa leaned against the wall in the dark alley. She was sure that she might have already escaped her pursuer. She could only hope that Miu would be able to get away unharmed.

She never thought her day would turn out this way. In all of a sudden, that strange man clad in exorcist's garb showed up and started pursuing them. He somehow knew their true nature as the Devils.

"Ah… I-I need to contact master and the others too…" Lisa muttered. "And then search for Miu-chan…"

"Lookin' for this?"

Lisa let out a squeak when she heard that voice. She turned around and gasped when she saw her pursuer, whose grin was too wide to be considered human. He was holding a glowing sword in his right hand, and something else in his left.

When she took a look at it, Lisa brought her hand to her mouth, suppressing a scream.

The man was holding Miu's head. Her eyes were closed. Blood could be seen dripping from the severed stump.

"N-no way… M-Miu-chan… n-not her…" tears started to gather in Lisa's eyes before they rolled unbidden down her cheeks. "W-why? Why did you do this to us?"

"Hmm? Why, you ask? Obviously, you're Devils." The man shrugged before he threw the head towards Lisa. The head rolled on the ground before it stopped near Lisa's feet. "It kinda sucks, though. Only her head remains and I can't rape her. Oh well, at least I can skull-fuck her after I kill ya." He grinned.

"You…" Lisa looked at Miu's head before she glared at the man. "Y-you bastard…" she conjured a pair of katana in her hands as her Devil wings emerged from her back, expanding to their full length. "You're gonna pay for this! I'll kill you!"

"Oho? We'll see about that." The man said.

Lisa was about to attack, but then, she was stopped when she saw what was behind the man. She froze as she saw what was behind him.

Words alone couldn't describe what was behind the man. It was an ever-shifting, ever-changing mass of chaos. As a reincarnated Devil, there was a part within Lisa that was still human. As soon as she saw what was behind the man, the human part of her reacted to it.

Much to her horror, she somehow recognized the swirling chaos. It felt like seeing her own reflection in a mirror. She saw herself in the chaos. Hell, she might even say that she was the chaos.

_Resentment, hatred, self-destruction, despair, lamentation, fear, death…_

Lisa trembled as she dropped her katana. She was unable to move. She was too shocked to even say anything or do anything as she saw herself in the mass of chaos that was presented before her. The man slowly approached her before he brought his hand to her chin. She didn't react to it, because her eyes were still focused on the swirling chaos behind the man.

"Devils… the creatures of darkness…" somehow, his tone was subdued and calm, unlike before. "You are the creatures made of sins, made to sin. Yet you put those masks on yourselves, acting like the humans you are actually not." The man sighed. "You are the creatures of the Underworld, the ones that are never humans to begin with. But you take the appearance of the humans, mimicking them, copying their behaviors. You are a different creature altogether, and yet you discard your true nature in favor of a lesser being that your kind usually perceived."

The man brought his hand to Lisa's lips, tracing them with his thumb.

"You see them as inferiors, yet you act like them. Is this an acknowledgement to humans themselves? Or is it simply due to a simple fact that controvert your true nature?"

Then, he moved his hand to the girl's ribbon, undoing it.

"As far as I can see, you, the Devils, are contradicting yourselves."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Prince Arjuna is here! Thank you for reading the latest chapter of Heart of a Butterfly. Actually, I have a lot of things to say about some of the reviews for the previous chapters, about how many people are ignorant of the source materials, which are from High School DxD. Seriously, is it fun to demonize the Devils? I mean, yeah, they're Devils, but do you seriously think that Sirzechs are really that evil? Geez, you guys sure are influenced by Demon Lord's Hero's nonsense, aren't you? Well, if you guys like DLH, I don't really mind, and don't really care. It's an acquired taste.

Okay, enough with talking about other fic in my fanfiction. So, the next chapter will probably be the mark of a new arc, which is also focused on P3. And I'd also like to mention that this is the first chapter of Heart of a Butterfly to be updated in 2015. Yay! By the way, Miu and Lisa are just OCs who may not show up in later chapters, but they may be mentioned somewhere in between or whatever.

Also, I'd like to thank **Sraosha** for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice to work alongside you.

So, as usual, why don't you guys leave me some reviews? Considering that an author needs a motivation, overflowing reviews seem to be a good start. Thank you once again and see you guys later in the next chapter, **Chapter 15: Soul Phase.** Stay tuned!

**Edit:** Alright, I admit that I made a mistake in the previous chapter, and also in my rant above. I will not deny that I screwed things up. Here, I will try to figure out a way to patch things up so they appear to be acceptable for you guys. My principle as an author is 'most of the time, the readers are often right, except when they are not'. And here, forgive me for my lack of foresight.

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	15. Soul Phase

"Akeno?"

"What is it, Buchou?"

Rias Gremory adjusted her seat as she looked at the vice-president of the Occult Research Club, Akeno Himejima, who was also her Queen. The raven-haired beauty was seen reading a novel as she perked her head to look at Rias, who was sitting on a couch while enjoying a cup of tea.

"Do you agree that Aigis makes a decent Knight?" Rias asked. "Or considering what we had seen from her, a good Rook?" Akeno blinked when Rias presented her with those questions. "Wait, now that I think about it, I remember Aigis telling us that Labrys' specialty is her physical strength. Do you think it's best for me to use Knight for Aigis and Rook for Labrys?"

Akeno looked at Rias before she opened her mouth to say something. "Rias-"

"I wonder if we can really use Evil Pieces on robots. Hmm… I remember seeing some peerages having golems as the members, so I think it's possible to use Evil Pieces on robots," Rias mused some more, not realizing Akeno placing her palm on her own face in exasperation. "What do you think, Akeno?"

"Rias."

"Hmm?" Rias tilted her head, noticing the exasperated look on her Queen's face. "What's the matter, Akeno?" She blinked a few times as she realized that Akeno's left eyebrow was twitching. "Oh! Are you perhaps having the day of the month? Are you having a cramp, perhaps?" She said as she hit her palm with her fist as she came up with that conclusion. Akeno's right eyebrow twitched. "I'm sorry, Akeno. If only you have told me earlier, I would've told you to come home early."

Akeno tried her best to compose herself as she spoke, "I… I am very happy for your consideration, Rias, but that's not really the problem here."

"Oh? Then, what is it? Is there something bothering you?" Rias asked. As the Devil Mistress of her peerage, it was her responsibility to take care of the well-being of the Devils that served under her. Even though she had known Akeno for a long time, she also knew that Akeno also had a fair share of hardships. It's only logical for her to be concerned about her well-being.

"Well… it's about you, actually,." Akeno said.

"Me?" Rias gave Akeno a bewildered look.

Akeno nodded. "Yes. It's been happening for the last few days, actually," she said. "You have been talking about having both Aigis and Labrys joining us, and today, you have been talking about the same thing. Many times." She let out a soft sigh. "Six times, to be exact."

"Oh…" Realizing that she had been saying the same thing to Akeno many times, Rias couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I didn't realize it. Now that I think about it, I've been saying the same thing over and over again to you." She figured out that she might have annoyed Akeno by bringing up the same thing so many times. "I'm sorry…" She lowered her head. "I didn't know. It's just… How do I put it?" She brought her hand to her chin. "That thing has been on my mind for the last few days…"

Akeno smiled at Rias as she got up from her seat. Then she went to the back of the couch where the crimson-haired beauty was sitting on before she placed her hands on her shoulders, giving her a light massage. "I know…" Her lips curled up into a playful, mischievous smile. "I can understand that. You really want them to join us…" She brought her hand up to Rias' face, using her slender fingers to touch her cheek. A chuckle escaped her lips as she gently stroked Rias' cheek. Then she brought up her other hand to touch Rias' lips. "But… don't you think it's too much? You should relax for a bit."

"A-Akeno…" Rias was unable to resist as Akeno moved her hand to stroke her chin. Her cheeks were flushed red when Akeno sniffed on her crimson hair, savoring the fragrance of the shampoo that she used.

"Just relax…" Akeno whispered seductively to Rias' ear. Rias could feel Akeno's warm breath as her hands continued stroking her intimately. "We have known each other for so long, remember? We have nothing to hide to each other anymore, so just rest your head and leave everything to me…" She licked her lips as she said that.

A while later…

"Seriously, though…" Akeno sighed as she stroked Rias' hair as the red-haired beauty used her lap as a pillow, sleeping soundly. "You can be quite a handful sometimes, Rias." She looked at the face of the sleeping Rias, noting how cute her face looked while she was sleeping. She even resisted the urge to take pictures of her for future use because she knew that while the idea of taking pictures as blackmail material was quite appealing, Rias really needed her rest. "Oh well, I guess I'll be staying here until you wake up, then."

Akeno considered Rias as her most precious friend. She knew how much she was indebted to her, the one who had given her a new life after being deprived of her old one. That was one of the reasons why she decided to always be by her side.

And Rias was also quite cute, so it was a plus for Akeno.

Akeno also thought that Rias had been acting oddly these last few days, but it was just probably due to tiredness or excitement over the thought of having two strong members for her peerage.

Akeno closed her eyes, humming a tune as she continued stroking Rias' red hair. They were the only two people present in the clubroom because the others were having some kind of activity together with Aigis and Labrys, so the room was quieter than usual. As the raven-haired girl continued humming the tune, she noticed something moving in the air in front of her.

"A butterfly?"

In front of her was a black butterfly, fluttering in the air before it perched on the teacup that Rias used earlier. Akeno blinked a few times as she looked at the butterfly. She had no idea how the insect was able to enter the room, considering that the door and the windows were closed.

As she continued staring at the black butterfly, Akeno felt something strange. She felt as if she was looking into something far deeper, into some kind of dark abyss which was reflected by the blackness that the insect displayed.

She felt like she was in the darkness itself.

In the world without darkness, she could easily identify herself, a person with her own identity. But in the world where she was surrounded by nothing but darkness, she might not be able to see even herself.

How could she identify herself if she couldn't see even herself?

There were many things she could describe about herself. She was reincarnated as a Devil, but before that, she was something else. Who was she before being turned into a creature of the Underworld? Was she a human? Was she something else entirely? Of course she knew what she was, but in the darkness, in what way could she prove it? Was there something else she had yet to know about herself?

When she thought about it, when she was in the darkness, she was nothing but a cluster of swirling chaos. In a world without light, she was nothing but a contradiction.

When she came back to her senses, the black butterfly was nowhere to be seen. Blinking a few times, she looked at the teacup a few seconds before she looked down to see Rias' sleeping face. Then, she looked back at the teacup.

"Well…" Akeno muttered. "That was weird…"

An understatement of the century.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 15: Soul Phase**

"Graah!" Using his gauntleted fist, Issei threw a punch towards Pallas Athena, who dodged the punch by tilting her head aside, narrowly avoiding the punch that was amplified by the Boosted Gear by a paper-thin margin.

The goddess retaliated by grabbing Issei's arm, attempting to throw him over her shoulder. Issei tried to get away, but his attempt was unsuccessful as Athena managed to effortlessly throw him over her shoulder. The throw sent him to the ground.

"Urgh!" Issei landed on his back. "Ow… that hurts…" he groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"Hmm… your move is still sloppy, but you are getting better, boy," Athena said. "You still need to think about your next moves. Putting all your strength into one decisive blow can potentially end a battle, but it can also backfire if your opponent manages to counter your attack."

"Y-yes…" Issei said as he got up from the ground. "I'll remember that, Sensei."

Athena smiled. "Good. Now, let us continue."

"Alright, Sensei!"

As Issei continued training with Pallas Athena, the others were watching them. This time, Labrys also joined them, sitting on the picnic blanket that was spread on the ground. Kiba was seen drinking a can of soda while Koneko was eating her eighth onigiri. Asia was eating her sandwich slowly, wincing whenever she saw Issei being thrown to the ground by the goddess. As for Aigis, she was watching the training. Due to Pallas Athena being her Persona, she had to remain conscious in order to keep Athena around.

"So," Labrys spoke. "Is this what Issei-kun been doin' for the last few days?" She spoke with her usual Kansai accent.

"Yeah…" Kiba said, nodding. "I guess we got used to this kind of sight." He shrugged. "I mean, it still looks painful, but at least we're not wincing anymore." Issei was once more being thrown around by Athena, and Asia winced. "Well, not everyone, I guess," Kiba added.

"Huh." Labrys blinked and looked back at both Issei and Athena. "So that explains why he ain't gettin' all too loud lately in class. Normally he's joinin' those other two, reading some porno magazines and stuff like that." The ponytailed mechanical maiden was referring to both Matsuda and Motohama, the other two perverts who were always together with Issei. The three of them were infamously known as the Perverted Trio due to their perversity.

"Good for him," Koneko said after she finished her tenth onigiri before she took out her eleventh from the picnic basket. "He should stop being an unrepentant pervert…"

"Now, now, Koneko-chan, don't say such a mean thing about Issei…" Kiba said to Koneko in placating manner. Koneko reacted by letting out a huff before she started eating her tenth onigiri while her other hand was taking out her eleventh onigiri. "As a boy, I can understand his obsession with stuff like that."

Koneko gave Kiba an icy glare. "Then Kiba-senpai is a pervert too."

"That hurts, Koneko-chan…"

As for Aigis, she smiled as Kiba attempted to fix the notion of him being labelled as a pervert by Koneko. Asia noticed it and scooted over to the blond mechanical android, sitting close to her. "What's the matter, Ai-san?"

"No, it is nothing…" Aigis said, shaking her head. "It's just that… I find it fascinating how similar humans and Devils seem to be. In fact, there is no difference between them, from what I can see…" Then, she sighed. "Still, the basis of my opinion comes from my observation of the Devils who are serving under Gremory-san rather than an observation of the Devil society as a whole."

Asia tilted her head. "Well, Buchou has been treating me kindly, even though I am practically useless to the group. Even if the rest of the Devils are different compared to Buchou, I know that as a whole, Devils are no different compared to humans."

Aigis nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right." It would be a matter of time before she was able to see beyond what Rias Gremory and her group had presented to her. From there, she would be able to decide whether the existence of these creatures of the Underworld could bring harm to humanity as a whole or not. "By the way, you shouldn't put yourself down, Asia-san. To still retain a portion of your Sacred Gear even though it should have been extracted from you is still noteworthy." She remembered the moment when Asia breathed her last after having Twilight Healing taken out forcefully by Raynare, and how much it broke her heart to see someone she considered as a friend having to suffer like that.

Now that Asia had been given a second chance to live, Aigis also swore to herself to do what she had failed to do once; protecting her. This time, she promised to herself to not fail again.

"Asia-san…" Aigis said softly. "This time, I promise… I promise I will protect you." She moved her gloved hands to touch Asia's, and the ex-nun let out a startled squeak when the mechanical maiden did that. "I will protect you, even with my life as a price."

"Hawawa?!" Asia was stunned upon hearing that from Aigis. "I-I… uwa… A-Ai-san… umm…" Her cheeks seemed to be getting redder as the ex-nun mumbled incoherently. Aigis' gloved hands shouldn't be able to generate heat, considering her nature as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, but she could feel the comforting warmth coming from her touch.

Meanwhile, Labrys, who was being an onlooker, didn't lose her chance to express her opinion regarding the exchange between her sister and the ex-nun. "Is she crushing on my sis or somethin'?"

Kiba blinked a few times as he looked at Asia, whose face was red due to embarrassment. "Well, it kinda looks that way, I suppose." He brought his hand to his chin, as if stroking an imaginary beard. "And here I thought she likes Issei."

Labrys glanced at Issei who was thrown a few meters away by Athena's blow. "Looks like my sis is involved in some kind of complicated relationship…" She folded her arms. "Is this what people call ménage à trois?"

Kiba chuckled nervously. "Well, I can't say you're wrong there, Labrys-san."

"Huh." Labrys tilted her head before she continued watching the training. She was about to comment about the training when she suddenly heard a beeping noise inside her head. "Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" Kiba asked.

"Phone call," Labrys said as she got up and went a distance away from the group. Unlike her sister, she installed her phone internally. "Labrys speakin'."

"So…" Kiba looked at Aigis. "You have your phone inside your head?"

"Yes," Aigis nodded. "But unlike my sister, I prefer to use the external means. As an ASW, I am equipped with software like a built-in GPS, an online encyclopedia, a translator and many more." She glanced at Asia. "I believe having a translator built inside my head allowed me to speak with Asia-san the first time I met her. She was speaking Italian at that time."

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense…" Kiba said. All the Devils, including the reincarnated ones, were able to understand other languages. That was why Issei was able to understand what Asia was saying back then when she was still a human. That was also the reason why Asia was able to understand Japanese after being turned into a Devil.

As for Labrys, she was seen nodding several times before she turned on her heel after ending the conversation. She walked over to Aigis. "Sis, we got a call. Mitsuru-san wants us to return to headquarter."

"Oh? Did something happen?" Aigis asked.

"Yes, but…" Labrys glanced at the others. "It's confidential. She wants us to return as soon as possible. A helicopter is gonna come fetch us."

"I see…" Aigis mused. "Well then." She looked at both Issei and Pallas Athena. The goddess stopped herself and looked at her other self before dissipating into motes of blue light, much to Issei's confusion. "Issei-san, I apologize, but there is something important I need to attend to, so I think we should call it a day for now." She went over to Issei to explain the situation.

"Uh, okay?" Issei said uncertainly. "Is there trouble, Ai-chan?"

Aigis smiled reassuringly. "I believe there is no trouble going on. We'll probably be gone for a few days, so I suppose we'll meet again soon."

"Alright, if you say so…" Issei nodded. "I'm gonna train by myself in the meantime, I guess."

"Please do just that, Issei-san." Aigis smiled. "We will resume the training as soon as we return."

Thinking that it was time to call it a day, the others started to gather their things before they heard some loud noises from above. There was also wind from above before they looked up and saw a black helicopter. A military-grade helicopter, to be exact.

"How did they find you here?" Kiba asked Aigis, almost shouting due to the noises generated by the flying vehicle.

"They have some kind of tracking device, I suppose!" Aigis answered, almost shouting back. "Let's go, Sister!"

"Got it, Sis!" Labrys replied, nodding.

Before the helicopter could drop a rope ladder, both mechanical maidens used their rocket propellers to go to the helicopter, getting into the flying vehicle in fluid motions. From the way the helicopter moved, the others who were on the ground could tell that both androids managed to startle the pilot.

"Well, that's kind of awesome…" Issei muttered.

"Yeah." Kiba nodded. "Here I thought this kind of situation only exists in manga or anime."

Asia continued staring at the helicopter as it flew away while Koneko was hugging the picnic basket and eating her twentieth onigiri.

* * *

The trip to headquarter was uneventful, except for the fact that the pilot of the helicopter, another Kirijo maid was grumbling about being scared by two flying robots in midair while piloting the helicopter. On the way to headquarter, Labrys explained the situation to her sister.

"Mitsuru-san wants all members of Shadow Operatives to come to headquarter in response to the sudden visit from the leader of the Devils a few days ago?" Aigis paraphrased what Labrys had told her earlier.

Labrys nodded. "That's the gist of it, I suppose. There's gonna be a meeting with the rest of the members, I think."

"Then, Yukari-san and Junpei-san will show up too?" Aigis asked.

"Yup. That's what Mitsuru-san told me." Labrys nodded again.

"I cannot wait to meet them." Aigis seemed happy as she thought about meeting her closest friends.

"Akihiko-san is unavailable, for some reason, though," Labrys added.

"Hmm… He's probably on his training trip or with Detective Kurosawa…" Aigis mused. "Still, it's so good to meet everyone again."

When they finally arrived at their destination, both of them stepped out of the black helicopter. The leader of the Shadow Operatives, Mitsuru Kirijo, had been waiting for them. Both Aigis and Labrys walked over to her direction before they stopped.

"Shadow Operative Number 5, Aigis, reporting for duty!" Aigis gave Mitsuru a salute as she spoke to her in formal tone.

"Shadow Operative Number 10, Labrys, reporting for duty!" Labrys also did the same.

Returning the salutations, Mitsuru smiled at both mechanical maidens. "It's so good to see you two. Come, everyone's been waiting for you." She spun on her heel and walked into the building. "Except Akihiko, who's been busy for quite some time…" she added.

After they entered the building, walking down the corridor, they saw a red-haired man in his mid-thirties, clad in a gray suit with red shirt underneath, leaning against the wall while talking to Kikuno, Mitsuru's personal maid. The man seemed to be wearing a pair of shaded glasses. When he noticed Mitsuru and both androids, he looked at them and spoke, "It's been a while, Kirijo."

"It's been a while too, Detective…" Mitsuru nodded. "Thank you for accepting our invitation. And please allow me to introduce these two." She gestured at both Aigis and Labrys. "This is Aigis, one of our senior operatives, and this is Labrys, the newer one."

"Huh…" The man removed his glasses as he studied both mechanical maidens. "So, they are robots, huh?"

"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, to be exact," Aigis corrected.

"Ah, yes…" The man smiled. "So, Aigis and Labrys, huh? Well, this is our first time meeting each other, so let's work alongside each other for the time being. Like you and the rest of the Shadow Operatives, I am also a Persona-user and I have been in this kind of thing for more than ten years."

Aigis gave the man a curious look. "So, you are our senior, then?"

The man smiled blandly. "You could say that." Then, the man looked at Mitsuru. "So, are we going to start the meeting?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. Though I apologize for the inconvenience caused by some of my operatives…" She averted her eyes, as if recalling some past events. "Iori's heart is in the right place, so I hope that you do not think badly of him just because of that one incident."

The man shrugged. "It's quite alright. Let's just say I got used to this, even though my allergy to cats isn't quite cured yet…" He smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. I haven't introduced myself to both of you yet." He looked at both Aigis and Labrys. "I am Katsuya Suou, a police detective. Kirijo here sent me an invitation for me to join the Shadow Operatives due to current events…"

"It is nice to meet you, Suou-san." Aigis bowed.

"Nice to meet'cha, Katsuya-san!" Labrys said to the police detective enthusiastically.

The police detective, Katsuya, smiled dryly. "Well, it's good to have a go-getter among us. So, let's go. We shouldn't waste any more time with idle chatting. We still have something important to discuss."

"Understood," Aigis responded, nodding.

* * *

The meeting was held in a meeting room. Almost all the members of the Shadows Operatives were there, except Akihiko. Fuuka was not there because she wasn't formally a member of the Shadow Operatives.

Aigis could also see some new faces among the members, recognizing them as the ones that Mitsuru wanted to recruit into the team. The leader of the Shadow Operatives also once discussed the possibility of having the Persona-users from Inaba recruited into the team once they reached adulthood. While she still wanted them to have normal life, having more Persona-users among their ranks would benefit all.

It's just that the Persona-users from Inaba felt more like an independent organization, and Mitsuru knew that they probably wouldn't feel comfortable working with her. And considering that the famous Detective Prince, Naoto Shirogane, was also a part of Inaba's team, Mitsuru figured out that they would be alright if left to their own device. Moreover, their leader, the ever calm and level-headed Yu Narukami, reminded her of the former field leader of SEES. So, whatever might happen to them in near future, she was sure that she could trust them to do the right thing in the end.

As for the meeting, the members of the Shadow Operatives were told about the details regarding the existence of the biblical factions, as well as the sudden appearance of the leader of the Devils, Sirzechs Lucifer, who showed up right in front of Mitsuru some days ago, asking her about the reason to why Shadow Operatives existed in the first place. The leader of the Devils told her that he was curious.

"For an All-Powerful Lord of the Underworld, he sounds rather carefree…" one member of the Shadow Operatives, Yukari Takeba, commented. Unlike usual, she was wearing a rather formal suit.

Mitsuru raised one eyebrow after hearing Yukari's comment, but she decided to not reprimand her for interrupting the meeting as she continued, "While it's still too early to decide whether the existence of these biblical factions can harm humanity and the world or not, it is still prudent for us to be cautious. And…" She glanced at Yukari. "These factions are also not our only primary concern, due to the fact that a few weeks ago, a group of individuals who claimed themselves to be vampires assaulted the filming crew at Yukari Takeba's workplace. It's safe to assume that we are no longer dealing with Shadows alone." The red-haired woman clasped her hands together. "The world of supernatural is vaster than what we expected, and certain measures have to be taken in order to prepare ourselves to face the potential threats from the world of supernatural in the near future."

The members of the Shadow Operatives nodded their heads, determination seemed apparent in their expressions. The youngest member of the team, Ken Amada, raised his hand. "Will we have to prepare ourselves to fight these factions?" The boy asked.

Mitsuru looked at Ken before she answered, "We can only hope that it will never come to that. Based from what I have gathered from both my meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer as well as Aigis' reports, we cannot stand a chance against these factions if we were to declare them as the bane of humanity. We may have Personas and combat prowess, but their numbers exceed us, and not to mention that we are not experienced in combating their kinds before."

"So, if we cannot stand a chance against them, what do you suggest we do?" A bespectacled man with sophisticated tone spoke. He seemed to be wearing a leather suit that had number one written on its back.

Mitsuru glanced at Aigis before she answered, "For now, there is no certain answer to that question. The best we can do is to do more research regarding these factions, especially the Devils. We can only hope that our field agents, Aigis and Labrys, will manage to gather sufficient information regarding these factions. We will decide our next course of action once they manage to do that."

The meeting went on for one more hour, with the members reporting their current status as well as the events that they had undergone these last few days. Junpei, in particular, figured out that his encounter with a ghost in a toilet seemed to be a suitable thing to report, much to Yukari's exasperation. Still, Mitsuru told them that the encounter with such entity might provide them with insight for the supernatural entities so that they could come up with suitable counters for future encounters.

Once the meeting was over, the members of the Shadow Operatives were dismissed. Both Aigis and Labrys were told to wait for the next order before they were allowed to return to their mission. In the meantime, both mechanical maidens decided to see both Junpei and Yukari.

"So, you two are posing as students at high school, huh?" Junpei said. Unlike other members, he seemed to be wearing something casual; a fur-trimmed jacket over his plain shirt as well as a pair of denim pants. "What's the name of the school again? Raoh?"

Yukari rolled her eyes. "It's Kuoh, Stupei."

Junpei groaned. "Will you quit calling me that, Yuka-tan?!"

The actress huffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "Hmph! You should pay more attention to what Mitsuru-senpai had told us, you know? Still…" She looked at both Aigis and Labrys. "I hope you two are doing fine. I'm glad that you're doing okay after encountering them, Aigis."

Aigis returned the smile that was given to her by Yukari. "I'm glad for your concern, Yukari-san. But I am doing fine."

Yukari gave the mechanical maiden a concerned look. "Still, in case if you need my help with something, feel free to tell me, 'kay?"

"But, are you not busy with your work, Yukari-san?" Aigis asked.

Yukari chuckled. "Nah, it'll be fine. After all, you're my best friend."

"Best friend…" Aigis then looked down. After a while, she looked back at Yukari, giving her a bashful smile. "Yes. I'm glad to be your best friend, Yukari-san."

"Um, hello? Did anyone forget that I am here?" Junpei asked exasperatedly.

Yukari smiled slyly at Junpei. "Well, if two girls are bonding with each other, all you can do now is wait there until we're done. You have to deal with it, Junpei."

"Heh… Girls and their bonding stuff…" Junpei rolled his eyes. Then, he noticed that Labrys was silent. "Hmm? Labrys-chan, something wrong? You're awfully quiet today. Did you get a stomachache or something?"

Yukari gave Junpei a weird look. "Junpei, Labrys is a robot. She won't get a stomachache…"

"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, to be exact," Aigis corrected.

"Yeah, that. Whatever…" Yukari shrugged. "But, now that you've mentioned it, you're so quiet today, Labrys. Is something wrong?" She asked with a concerned tone. As a senior member of the Shadow Operatives, it was her responsibility to take care of the junior member. In a way, Yukari seemed to be treating Labrys like a little sister. "You can just tell us if there's something bothering you, okay?"

"Umm…" Labrys began. "I-it's nothin'. There ain't nothing botherin' me at all."

"Sister?" Aigis spoke to Labrys, seemingly concerned.

"I-I wanna be alone for now. S-see you guys later!" Labrys said before she rushed down the hallway, leaving the three of them.

"Huh?" Junpei looked at the ponytailed android girl go confusedly. "Now that's just strange."

"Yeah, that's just plain strange." Yukari nodded. "Did something happen to Labrys?" She asked Aigis.

"I… I don't know…" Aigis admitted as she lowered her gaze, as if in shame. "But I can tell that there is something bothering her right now, but I did not even realize it beforehand." She made a dejected expression. "What a failure of a sister I am…"

"D-don't say that!" Yukari said, patting Aigis' back. "Maybe she just wants some time alone. Just give her time, 'kay? Once you think she's ready, you can ask her what's wrong with her…" she said to Aigis in a reassuring tone.

Slowly, Aigis nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right, Yukari-san. Thank you."

"Hehe, that's what a best friend is for, you dummy!" Yukari gave Aigis a heartfelt smile. "Seriously, though, you ought to stop worrying over the smallest of things, you hear me?"

Aigis returned the smile while blushing slightly. Then, they heard the sounds of footsteps before a man in a gray suit came over to them, wearing a neutral expression. He removed his shades and gave the trio a small smile.

"Suou-san?" Aigis looked at the man, a Persona-user who was also a police detective. She gave him a salute, and the man returned it. "How may I help you?"

"Just call me Katsuya," the man, Katsuya, said. "Well, it's not that big, actually. It's just that I have something to deliver to you." He took out an envelope from his suit and handed it to Aigis. "An acquaintance of mine told me to deliver this to you."

"Hmm?" Aigis took the envelope.

"Well, you can open it and look into it, but I suggest you look into it on your own time," Katsuya said. "I guess that's it. In case if you ever need my help, just contact me." He took out another thing from his jacket, which was a card with his name and contact number. "Something big is going on behind the scenes, Aigis-san. I suggest for you to be prepared…" he said before he left.

As the trio watched the police detective leaving them, Junpei was the first one to speak. "Well, that sounds kinda enigmatic, if you ask me."

Yukari sighed. "He's our senior, remember? He's been into this Persona business long before we could even use our Personas."

Aigis inspected the envelope and flipped it to look behind it. "S. Chandraputra?" She frowned.

"Well, that's an exotic-sounding name…" Junpei commented. "Are you goin' to read it, Ai-chan?" From his tone, it seemed that he was curious about the content of the envelope.

Yukari frowned at the part-time baseball coach. "Beat it, Stupei. Katsuya-san told her to read it on her own time, remember? Maybe it's something really important?"

"I know, I know…" Junpei sighed. "So, you know this Chandraputra guy, Ai-chan?"

Aigis blinked a few times. "I… I don't know," Aigis admitted. "I will read the content soon," she said before she put the envelope into the pocket of her coat. "So, considering that I am waiting for the next order from Mitsuru-san, I will remain on standby for the time being. That way, I will be here for a few days."

"Is that so?" Yukari then grinned. "Then, why don't we hang out? I mean, it's been a while since the last time we went shopping together, right? The clothes are on sell this time around, you see? I'm sure you'll like all those cute clothes, Aigis." She seemed rather excited over the thought of putting some cute clothes on the mechanical maiden.

"Cute clothes? Well, if Yukari-san believes that it's good, then I shall agree…" Aigis nodded.

"Alright! Let's get prepared, then!"

And so, both Aigis and Yukari left, and Junpei was left alone.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Junpei muttered to himself.

* * *

_Once again, I was in the reflected world, where the surface of the floor I was standing on reflected the image of the cloudless sky above. As usual, the blue-haired boy was there, his hands in his pockets as he looked at me, displaying a kind smile._

"So, you're back, huh?"

_The boy spoke kindly before he held out his hand. Without saying anything, I took his hand, feeling his warm palm over mine. It made me feel comfortable._

"Let's talk again, like always."

_And so, like usual, we talked about a lot of things. Most of them were mundane things, but I was interested in all of them. Whenever we talked, I didn't even realize how much time had passed._

_Then, he stopped. I looked at him, and I saw a sad smile on his face._

"Didn't I tell you to stop chasing after a ghost?"

_I remembered what he had told me before. He told me to stop chasing after a ghost, chasing after him. But, I knew that it had to be done._

_I just wanted to tell him something._

_I tried to say those words, but whenever I tried to do so, those words stuck in my throat._

"I see…"_ As if noticing my anguish over my inability to do something that was important to me, he mused._ "Alright, I won't tell you to stop chasing after me, a ghost from the past."

_That was fair enough._

"Still, chasing after a ghost is a dangerous thing to do. One wrong step, and you won't be able to get back to what you previously were."

_I told him that I would not lose myself. He responded to that by patting my head. I was embarrassed._

"Still, it makes me wonder why you're so adamant in chasing after me…"

_It was easy to answer that question. My words didn't stuck in my throat as I spoke out my reason._

"Because you made my sister happy."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello, Prince Arjuna, reporting for duty! Sorry for the wait, considering that right now, I am busy with college and stuff like that. And not to mention that I have three other projects to write. So, this is P3-centered chapter, with the members of the Shadow Operatives meeting to discuss about the current events. And let's not forget the existence of a certain black butterfly, as well as the reappearance of a few characters from Persona 2. Also, things may get pretty complicated in the future, so I hope you guys will like it even though it's getting complicated.

Also, thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It is so nice working alongside you. So, I hope you'll like this chapter, and don't forget to send a few reviews in order to motivate this lazy author. See you in the next chapter, **Chapter 16: Broken Heart.** Until then, farewell.

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	16. Broken Heart

Sitting on Yukari's bed, Aigis held the envelope that was given to her by Katsuya. The police detective told her that an acquaintance of his had asked him to deliver this letter to her. Katsuya also told her that something big was going on behind the scenes and advised her to be prepared. Other than that, he didn't elaborate about it any further.

The mechanical maiden looked at the name of the sender, which was on the back of the envelope. "S. Chandraputra…" She agreed with Junpei's comment about the name being a rather exotic-sounding one. After making a quick search in her database, the name was rather prevalent around Indonesian archipelago, and she deduced that the sender was Indonesian in nationality. She also assumed that the "S" initial might be the sender's first name, with Chandraputra being his or her surname.

Opening the envelope, Aigis took out the plain, white paper within it. Written on it was a simple sentence, and nothing else.

_Faceless King has stirred._

Frowning, Aigis studied the paper, thinking that she might have missed something. There was nothing else written besides the simple message.

"Analyzing for hidden message," Aigis muttered as she started analyzing for anything that might be hidden, but she found nothing. There was no hidden message in the letter. Even the ink used to write the message was an ordinary, cheap one.

After she was done analyzing, Aigis put down the letter, mulling over the content.

"Faceless King…" Aigis muttered. She had no idea who or what that was. She took out the card that Katsuya had given to her, and there was his contact number. She thought that she might need to ask the police detective regarding the message and the matter about the Faceless King.

As the android girl quietly thought to herself, the door was opened, and Yukari stepped into the room. She was dressed in a tank top, predictably pink in color, and a pair of denim shorts. She seemed to be holding a box as she entered her room.

"Oh, are you busy, Aigis?" Yukari asked. "Are you doing something important?"

Aigis looked at her best friend's face before she tilted her head. "Well… I am unsure whether to call this important or not." She took the letter and showed it to Yukari.

"Umm… are you sure this isn't a confidential one or something?" The actress asked uncertainly.

"It is not if it only has four words," Aigis deadpanned robotically.

Scrunching up her face after hearing Aigis' trademarked sarcastic voice, Yukari took the letter from the android girl and studied it before she frowned. "Well, this is certainly spooky in so many ways. 'Faceless King'? What in the world is that?" Then, Yukari made an exaggerated shrug. "And what's up with this vagueness? While being enigmatic is good to set the mood, it's not exactly helpful in the long run."

"Are you referring to the subplot in Phoenix Ranger Featherman R where King Sealion's right-hand man, General Tiger Shark, is doing something incomprehensible, even to his superior, just for the sake of being vague?" Aigis asked. "I recall the subplot having mixed receptions from the audience, as it wasn't well-received by the intended demographic."

Yukari sighed. "Well, at least that wasn't as bad as the Golden Week Special last year…" She seemed to be recalling some past events that she would rather not remember. "It was a disaster. It was the screenwriter's fault for losing the original scripts and having to rewrite it on the spot."

"Oh? So was that the reason why the actress who played Feather Parakeet briefly fell into depression? I remember keeping the news clip about it back at the laboratory…" Aigis said.

Yukari's eyes widened. "Y-you keep that sort of thing?"

"Of course. My best friend is a main character of the series. It is only prudent for me to be up to date with the story…" Aigis smiled slightly.

Yukari blushed. "A-are you teasing me?"

"How did you reach such a conclusion?" Aigis asked in a rather innocent tone.

"W-well…" After a while, Yukari let out a sigh. "Never mind. Let's get back to the things we're currently talking about, shall we? We're not discussing about King Sea Lion's latest diabolical plot to take over the world anytime soon." She looked at Aigis. "Do you know this guy? This S. Chandraputra?"

Aigis shook her head. "No, but I intend to ask Katsuya-san regarding the sender's identity. He told us that S. Chandraputra is his acquaintance. I am very certain that if the message sent by him is important, however vague it is, Katsuya-san may explain everything to us. If everything goes well, he may also tell us the real identity of this Faceless King…" she said.

"Well, one can hope, right?" Yukari nodded. "Still, are you going to inform Mitsuru-senpai about this?"

"If this has something to do with what we are currently dealing with, then I will. But for now, I would like to handle this matter by myself," Aigis stated.

Yukari knew the kind of face Aigis was displaying. It was a face that indicated that she was being stubborn. Sometimes, this attitude of hers worried her because if she went on by herself, she might end up getting herself into some trouble, especially ones that she couldn't handle all by herself. While she had acknowledged that Aigis was a very capable person who was even considered by Mitsuru herself as her replacement in the future, she still couldn't help herself. Over the years, she had developed this overprotectiveness towards Aigis, partly out of guilt for hurting her that one time, and partly out of love as a dear friend.

"Aigis," Yukari began, "you do realize that you don't have to deal with everything all by yourself, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Aigis asked, seemingly confused.

Yukari sighed. "You may have to deal with that lone wolf attitude of yours, Aigis. What I am trying to tell you is that you can ask for my help, okay? I understand your concern about others, but you don't have to disconnect yourself from others because of that concern. Even if you want to protect others from any sort of harm, you don't have to face everything head-on by yourself. You know what I'm saying, right?"

Aigis understood what Yukari was trying to tell her. As a senior operator of the team, she was often sent into missions alone. While she could do teamwork just fine with others, she mostly preferred doing her missions alone. It could have been dangerous, but being a machine, she knew that she could handle the danger just fine.

"I… I only want to protect everyone…" Aigis stated sympathetically. "I cannot bear to see anyone close to me getting hurt. I cannot bear of having to lose anyone precious to me. Not again. Physical pain is nothing compared to…" she brought her gloved hand to her chest as she recalled the time when Asia Argento breathed her last. It was more painful than taking a direct hit on herself. "…having to see someone I cherish being hurt."

"Aigis…"

Yukari then gave Aigis a hug.

"Yukari-san?"

"You big dummy…" Yukari mumbled. "Don't you know that people are worried about you too?"

Yukari stroked the back of Aigis' head as she buried her face against her neck.

"And don't give me that 'I want to protect everyone' stuff…" Yukari continued. "It's all good that you want to protect people around you, but do you have to let yourself get hurt? You're making people worry with that attitude of yours, you know?" After a pause, she added, "I know you're strong, but being strong can only get you so far. Sometimes, being strong alone isn't enough…"

Aigis didn't say anything as she continued to listen to Yukari.

"And you remember that we reached the top of Tartarus together, right? You know what I'm saying, right?"

"…Yes," Aigis finally responded. "I… I'm sorry…"

"D-don't apologize, you big dummy. Just be quiet and let me hug you…"

"…Thanks, Yukari-san…"

"Hush!"

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 16: Broken Heart**

The heartwarming moment between Yukari and Aigis instantly vanished the moment the door was opened, revealing Labrys, whose eyes were widened upon seeing both Yukari and Aigis hugging each other in a rather intimate manner.

"Umm…" Labrys said after a few moments of silence. Both her sister and the actress looked at her, each of them was still in each other's arms. "Am I intrudin' on somethin'?"

"Uh…" Still hugging Aigis, Yukari stared at the ponytailed mechanical maiden. "N-no, you aren't, and what are you doing here, Labrys? I thought you were at the lab."

Aigis and Yukari then let go of each other as they focused on Labrys. "Well, I'm here to tell ya somethin', Sis. We're gonna remain on standby here for a week before we can continue with our mission."

"Ah, I see…" Aigis nodded. "I take it that Mitsuru-san has notified the school board regarding our absence."

"Yeah," Labrys replied. "So, see ya two later!"

And so, Labrys left. Yukari gave the still-opened door a bewildered look.

"Aigis, I mean no offense, but your sister is getting a little weirder with each passing day," Yukari commented. "Did something happen to her?"

"None taken, and I'm not sure," Aigis stated truthfully. "But I have noticed that her behavior seems to be a tad erratic these last few days." Aigis brought her gloved hand to her chin. "Perhaps she's not used to this long-term mission?"

"Well, I guess all we can do now is give her some time…" Yukari sighed. "There's probably something that's been bothering her these last few days, so let's just give her some space before we can ask her about it."

"Yes, I suppose that is acceptable," Aigis said.

"So… now that you're here, you got anything important to do?" Yukari asked.

"Huh? Well, besides having to remain on standby, I have nothing else to do. Why are you asking, Yukari-san?" Aigis gave Yukari a strange look due to the question she gave to her.

Yukari grinned. "If you have nothing else to do, why don't we go out for a bit? Do a little shopping, sightseeing, stuff like that," Then, she looked at the suit the mechanical maiden was wearing. "And don't you think you should wear something else at this point? I know you pull off this professional look quite well, but wearing a dress once in a while won't hurt either."

Aigis looked down at herself, examining the Chesterfield coat she was wearing. "I prefer wearing something practical, like this one."

"But now you're having a break, so let's put you in something else, okay?" Yukari suggested.

"But-"

"And no 'buts', lady! I'm gonna doll you up and you have to deal with it!" Putting her hands on her waist, Yukari showed Aigis a strangely predatory grin. "C'mon now! You're pretty cute, so let's not waste that cuteness of yours, you hear me?"

"Umm… if Yukari-san says so, then I suppose I will have to follow," Aigis said, resignation seemed apparent on her expression. "I shall be in your care for the time being, then."

Yukari's cheeks reddened a bit. "Don't make it sound like I'm going to do something indecent to you, s-silly! People are gonna get the wrong idea!"

Aigis could only blink in confusion upon hearing Yukari's words.

* * *

Wielding her great axe in one hand, Labrys stood in the middle of a specialized training room. A few scientists were seen overseeing her from outside the room.

_"Dark Hour in three, two, one…"_

The scientists triggered the devices which allowed a miniaturized Dark Hour to occur within the training room, localizing the phenomenon within a limited space. The training room was filled with eerie green lighting, and a few blood-like spots could be seen on the floor, walls and ceiling.

_"The time limit will be ninety seconds. See what you can do within the timespan, Labrys."_

Upon hearing the instruction, Labrys nodded.

_"Releasing Shadows."_

A few creatures, shapeless and black in color, manifested themselves around the mechanical maiden. The creatures seemed to have masks as their faces.

"Initiating summoning procedure." With a robotic tone, Labrys spoke. "Come forth, Ariadne!"

Wreathed in a blue aura, Labrys summoned her Persona, Ariadne. The moment Ariadne appeared, red, thread-like substances appeared in the air, surrounding her. Seeing the Persona, the Shadows backed off a bit before they charged forward, attacking the one who summoned her.

Before they could reach her, however, they were crushed under the weight of Labrys' great axe.

What happened next was a massacre. The Shadows never stood a chance against the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon as she used her Persona to bind them with the crimson threads, immobilizing them, before she annihilated them with her heavy weapon. Her movement was graceless. There was no beauty in her technique as she slaughtered the Shadows with the combination of her Persona and her weapon.

In the gracelessness, therein lies the beauty. She was a perfect killing machine, built solely to destroy her enemies utterly. She used to hate the fact that she was built solely for that purpose, but after going through so many events, she began to realize that it wasn't so bad after all. So what if she was made to destroy Shadows? If she could use those abilities to help others, she could live with the fact that she was a weapon.

Ninety seconds had passed, and dozens of Shadows were reduced to nothing but black paste on the walls and ceiling. The miniaturized Dark Hour ended, and her surroundings reverted back to normal. Any signs of the Shadows were nowhere to be found, and Labrys then dismissed her Persona, giving her a thankful nod before she dissipated into motes of blue particles.

After the training session had ended, Labrys walked out of the training room and was given a quick check-up by the scientists. While the scientists were checking her condition, a certain red-haired woman approached her.

"Mitsuru-san?" Labrys blinked as she looked at the leader of the Shadow Operatives. She was attired in a black jacket, a pair of high-waist riding pants, and a pair of black boots. If her sister Aigis was around, she might be commenting on her choice of clothing, but she wasn't her sister, so she decided to keep any sort of commentary about Mitsuru's choice of clothing to herself. "Is there somethin' ya need from me?" She asked.

"Well, I just saw your training simulation, and I must say… I'm very impressed…" Mitsuru admitted. While her fighting style was a tad graceless for her taste, she definitely couldn't deny its effectiveness. Like her sister Aigis, Labrys was built to combat multiple opponents. While Aigis used a multitude of firearms and finesse in battle, Labrys relied on sheer brute strength in order to overpower her enemies. And it was worth noting that in terms of physical strength, Labrys was superior when compared to Aigis.

Upon hearing the compliment from Mitsuru, faint shade of red could be seen on Labrys' face. "Aw shucks. It ain't that much…" she said, seemingly embarrassed. "Well, thanks. It's kinda nice to get compliments from ya."

Mitsuru smiled. From what she could tell, Labrys was the kind of person who was eager to prove herself, especially after being formally inducted as an official member of the Shadow Operatives. And she couldn't help but think that the eagerness from Labrys' part was quite endearing.

"Well, what can I say? You're a member of the Shadow Operatives. As your leader, it's my responsibility to give out compliments to my subordinates…" Mitsuru shrugged as she spoke dryly.

"Even to Junpei-kun?" Labrys asked.

"Even to Iori, yes…" Mitsuru nodded. "Then again, you should give him some credit, too. He can be a little… eccentric, but he's also one of my operatives. He is as capable as many others, and also an important asset." Mitsuru sighed. "His Persona, Trismegistus, allows him to self-regenerate, which is a very important thing to have."

Labrys knew about Junpei's self-regeneration, Spring of Life. From what she had read, it was an ability he inherited from one named Chidori Yoshino, a rogue Persona-user whom he fell in love with. She sacrificed her life to save Junpei, who was mortally wounded at that time, and in turn, she transferred her power to him, fusing both their Personas, Hermes and Medea, into one Persona, Trismegistus. Due to their love for each other, their Personas, or the manifestations of their souls, became one. Love could make the impossible possible.

Labrys furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about it, and Mitsuru noticed the expression the ponytailed android made.

"Is something bothering you, Labrys?" Mitsuru asked.

"Mitsuru-san…" Labrys looked at Mitsuru. "What is love?"

Mitsuru gave Labrys a weird look.

"Umm… well, this is sort of sudden," Mitsuru began. "What's with the question, Labrys?"

"It's… kinda hard to explain, y'see…" Labrys said sheepishly.

"Wait, let's go to my office. We can talk about…" She glanced at the scientists, who seemed to be a little interested in their conversation. "…love in details over there."

"O-okay…" Labrys nodded. So, both Mitsuru and Labrys went to Mitsuru's office.

After closing the door of her office, Mitsuru sighed and went to her desk.

"So, let's… talk," Mitsuru said uncertainly. "About… whatever you want to talk, that is."

"W-well, y'see, I've been lookin' into books and stuff, read some novels, watched some melodramatic drama, things like that to understand this emotion I've been feelin' these last few days, a-and… I dunno, I think…" Labrys scratched her cheek. "I-I'm in love."

"Uh…" Mitsuru wasn't sure what to say about this. "W-well, I can't believe we're having this conversation. But, okay… since you are a member of the Shadow Operatives, it's my responsibility to help you to figure out the things that have been bothering you. So, tell me… about the person you fell in love with."

"Umm… th-that's the most complicated part, Mitsuru-san," Labrys admitted. "And I bet you're not gonna believe it."

"Try me," Mitsuru challenged.

"I… I fell in love with… Minato Arisato…"

For almost a minute, Mitsuru was silent.

"How... is that even possible?" Mitsuru finally said after her long silence. She never even met him, she thought.

"Th-that's another complicated part," Labrys said. "Ya do know 'bout the nature of ASWs, right? Both me and Sis are linked, complicated stuff like that, in one way or another, and somehow, her memories… spilled into my head."

"Th-that's… well, it baffles me how much it makes sense," Mitsuru admitted. "So, due to your proximity with your sister, her memories somehow were transferred into you, and you saw… Minato Arisato. But, how can you fall in love with a person who you can only see through someone else's memories?" Mitsuru asked.

"It's… umm…" Labrys seemed hesitant.

"Another complicated part?" Mitsuru asked.

Weakly, Labrys nodded.

"I-I've been dreamin' 'bout him…" Labrys said. "I made my own hypothesis 'bout my dreams. The Minato-kun I've been seein' in my dreams is nothin' but a construct based on Sis' memories. And in my dream, he interacted with me, a-and…" She blushed again.

"Ah, I see…" Mitsuru mused. "So, the Minato you saw in your dreams is made of Aigis' memories of him, and when you interacted with him, you… fell in love with him." Then, she brought her palm to her face. "I'm surprised that this doesn't surprise me," she said after she lowered her hand.

Even though he was nothing but a fragment of someone else's memories, he still managed to make someone fall in love with him. Even in death, he still managed to seduce someone. That was quite an accomplishment.

"So, you're bothered by the fact that you fell in love with someone who is essentially dead and made up of your sister's memories?" Mitsuru asked. Of course someone had to be bothered by that.

"Y-yeah, somethin' like that…" Labrys said. "B-but, then again, he told me to stop chasin' after him." She looked down. "He told me that there's no use in chasin' after a ghost…"

Mitsuru finally understood what was happening to Labrys. She was essentially conflicted over the fact that she fell in love with someone who she never even met, and the one that she had been interacting with was essentially the ghost of her sister's lover. It might have been hard for someone like her, a machine who grew a heart.

"I'm sorry…" Mitsuru said. "I'm sorry that you have to experience such a heartbreak, Labrys. I actually understand how it feels…" she smiled dryly.

"Y-you do?" Labrys looked at Mitsuru curiously.

"Let's just say that it wasn't your sister alone who desired for his affection…" Mitsuru said in a gentle tone. It was a painful fact to accept, but in the end, she had no other choice. In the end, Aigis was the one who gained such affection. "But after everything that she had gone through, she deserved it. She was the one who set his destiny in motion, and even if she was tormented by her memories of him, those memories also made her happy."

"Made her happy?" Labrys said. "I see… I'm really glad t' hear that." Labrys looked down. "When I think 'bout it again, it makes me feel kinda bad. I kinda took her memories of him for myself, and I shouldn't have done that." She gave Mitsuru a worried look. "I'm stealin' her memories of him and takin' 'em for my own. D-does that make me a bad person?"

"Labrys…" Mitsuru showed the ponytailed android a motherly smile. "You're not a bad person. And you didn't hurt anyone when you took the memories. It just… happened. And it's normal for you to fall in love, Labrys." She restrained herself from saying that it wasn't normal to fall in love with a construct made of memories because it was just plain weird thing to say. "Now, what else I can do for you, Labrys? Do you need more time to sort out your feelings? I can call for Aigis so that we can discuss about this matter."

"Umm… I-I'm not prepared for that yet," Labrys said, averting her eyes.

"Well, I suppose all I can do now is provide support," Mitsuru said. "And whoever you are meeting in your dream is right, Labrys. There's no use in chasing after a ghost." She closed her eyes, as if recalling some past events. "Once, we also tried to chase after that ghost, and in the end, we did nothing but hurt each other and ourselves. I don't want you to be hurt, too. Just tell me if you need more help from me and the others. We are the Shadow Operatives; we watch each other's back."

"I'll keep that in mind." Labrys nodded. "Thanks again, Mitsuru-san."

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Is this alright?"

"Yup! You look cute in those!"

Instead of in her usual Chesterfield coat, Aigis was attired in a dark blue dress that had a floral pattern and was long-sleeved so that her robotic joints were hidden. She was also wearing dark-colored pantyhose as well as a pair of ankle-length boots.

"Hmm…" Checking out the clothes she was wearing, Aigis then looked at Yukari and spoke, "Not restricting and quite accommodating for my movement." She smiled. "Thank you for choosing this dress for me, Yukari-san."

"Umm… I take it that you're comfortable in those," Yukari said. "Well, let's get going, then. Those clothes aren't going to buy themselves, are they?" She pulled Aigis' hand and brought her out of her room so that they could go to the city for their shopping trip. And Aigis had no choice but to go along with her without complaining.

So, Yukari ended up dragging poor Aigis around the city, buying clothes and dresses for the mechanical maiden to wear. It had become her habit to dress her up whenever she had her chance.

"Well? What do you think about this one, Aigis?"

"Umm… it's quite… frilly?"

"Let's try a Gothic Lolita style after this!"

"Gothic Lolita? Ah, so that explains the frills…"

While she was mostly dragged by Yukari during their shopping trip, Aigis would never say that she didn't enjoy her time together with her best friend. At times like this, she was very grateful to have someone like Yukari by her side. For her, Yukari was someone precious to her, and despite their history, she truly cherished her and her presence. There was no longer lingering bitterness between them as they finally acknowledged the feelings towards each other. For Aigis, she had already accepted the fact that she would never be like Yukari, a real girl made of flesh and blood. For Yukari, she had already accepted the fact that Aigis was special. When she thought about it again, she felt silly for being jealous of her a few years ago.

Both girls acknowledged their shortcomings, and in turn, they became best friends.

"Quite a haul we got here, don'tcha think?" Yukari asked as she carried some shopping bags which contained the clothes that they bought during the shopping trip.

"So, is this what we call 'excessive spending'?" Aigis spoke, carrying more bags than Yukari. Being a robot, she could carry more than what a normal girl could carry.

"Well, that's one way to describe what we're doing now…" Yukari said sheepishly. "But, no matter. I don't mind spending a lot of cash if it's with you, Aigis." She grinned at her best friend. "Now, what else do you want to do next?"

"Hmm… I'm thinking about visiting an aquarium," Aigis said.

"Ah, the one that was recently opened, you mean?" Yukari raised one eyebrow. "I wanna visit that place too, y'know? It's just that I didn't really have time for that, being an actress and all."

"I see. Let's go and visit the aquarium together, shall we?" Aigis suggested.

"Sure. Well, let's find a way to get these bags sent to my house first," Yukari said.

As both Aigis and Yukari were talking to each other, someone walked past them. Unlike others, that someone seemed to be wearing some sort of robe, like the one that is usually worn by a Hindu monk underneath a long, orange jacket. He was also wearing a turban on top of his head. His attire made him stand out among the crowd like a sore thumb, and both girls couldn't help but notice his presence when he entered their views.

The peculiar, fully-bearded man stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder, and Aigis was able to see his face. The mechanical maiden jerked her head a bit as she noticed the peculiarity of the man's face. The man looked human enough, but his visage seemed mask-like. There were two white stripes over each side of his face, and his eyes were blank.

After a while, the man walked away, and both girls just watched as the man disappeared into the crowd.

"That guy…" Yukari spoke first. "Is he human?"

For someone who had encountered inhuman entities a few times before, it was a legitimately valid question to be asked.

"I… have no idea," Aigis said. For her, the man somehow reminded her of herself; someone who was trying to blend into society by pretending to be human, but unlike her, the man didn't seem to be putting much effort in trying to keep up his appearance as a human. She also noticed that the others who saw the man being disturbed by his appearance.

In the end, though, she decided that it's probably another inhuman entity who decided to walk among the crowd. After knowing that there were supernatural entities among them, she shouldn't be that surprised anymore.

* * *

The man continued walking down the street, ignoring the curious looks from other people. After living for so many years within the collective unconscious, he somehow had forgotten how to appear like a normal human being. Well, after losing his real body, acting like a normal human being had to be quite an ordeal for someone like him.

The most important thing was that he had seen her, Philemon's newest champion, and the only hope for humanity's survival. He chuckled, noticing the irony that humanity's only hope was, decidedly, a non-human. Well, considering that he even had a cat who could summon a Persona, he shouldn't be too picky about who was about to be chosen as humanity's savior.

"Well, what do we have here?"

The man stopped as he heard a voice behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, and he saw a tall man clad in a dark violet suit. He noted that his golden bang made him look conspicuous among the crowd.

Not that he was doing any better, considering his look and his getup.

"It's been a while, old friend…" the man spoke, his voice sounded composed and calm. "I received your letter, Azazel, and it's quite a surprise that you somehow managed to find a way to send it into the collective unconscious where I live…"

The tall man, Azazel, grinned. "Well, let's just say I have my ways. So, how are you?"

"Besides still having no physical body, I'm quite sure that I'm doing fine…" The man walked over to Azazel's direction. "Still, it is good to see you again, Azazel, or should I call you Governor General of Grigori?" He held out his hand, offering the Fallen Angel a handshake.

Azazel looked down on the held out hand, noticing that it was made of something like ceramic before he shook the hand.

"It's good to see you again, Randolph Carter, or should I call you… Swami Chandraputra?" Azazel smiled meaningfully.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Huzzah! Another chapter completed after procrastinating for so long! So, here we go, Chapter 16 of Heart of a Butterfly, I hope you like it. This chapter is P3-centric, which focuses on the interactions between Aigis and Yukari as well as between Labrys and Mitsuru. Also, I am also introducing a rather obscure Persona 2 character, Swami Chandraputra, who only appeared in Eternal Punishment, or rather, in its remake, and exclusively in Tatsuya's scenario. For your information, Swami Chandraputra is a legendary Persona-user whose real identity is Randolph Carter. And this character is also a character from H.P. Lovecraft's work, who first appeared in his short story, The Statement of Randolph Carter, written in 1919.

And Carter is one of the unlucky few who had encountered a certain mad god of chaos in one of the stories written by Lovecraft, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, written in 1926. Also, Swami Chandraputra is Carter's alias when he appeared in Out of the Aeons, written in 1933. Certain adjustments have been made so that this character can fit into this story. Let's just say that Tatsuya's scenario didn't happen like how it did in Eternal Punishment.

So, I hope you'll like this chapter, and of course, feel free to leave some reviews for me, or else the author may end up being driven to insanity by some Lovecraftian horrors. And special thanks for Sorata Shioya for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice working alongside you.

See you guys in the next chapter, **Chapter 17: Priestess and Dragon.** Bye!

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	17. Priestess and Dragon

"I'm… here."

Fuuka Yamagishi opened her eyes and found herself floating aimlessly in an empty space. The feeling of vertigo washed over her, and she didn't know whether she was floating upside down or in an upright position.

And embarrassingly, she was devoid of clothing. While the young woman knew where she actually was, she couldn't help but try to cover herself, thinking that she was in a rather indecent state due to the lack of clothes.

Even so, she knew why she was there, the place that she could call the realm of her subconscious, the sea of consciousness, a place that reflected the state of her soul. She had come to this place many times before, and whenever she showed up here, she would find herself in someone else's company.

[How cute. Even while alone, you are still rather concerned in keeping your own modesty.]

Fuuka let out a startled squeak when she heard the voice that suddenly spoke to her from behind, which somehow sounded like hers, albeit a pitch lower. She glanced over her shoulder and was greeted by the sight of a woman, attired in a rather elaborate and dark red low-cut dress, complemented with a pair of opera gloves which had the same color as the dress. A pair of wings which resembled the tails of a peacock could be seen on her back. Covering the entirety of her face was a white mask, which bore the images of many eyes on it.

"Juno…" Fuuka turned around to face the woman, who was her Persona. "D-don't scare me like that."

In response, the woman chuckled.

[You are me, and I am you. There has to be no reason for you to be scared of me, the one who was born from the sea of your soul.]

Fuuka sighed. "Can you do something about my current state? I-I…" Fuuka blushed. "I'd rather not talk when I'm naked."

Juno tilted her head before she raised one of her gloved hands, making a swaying gesture. In an instant, there was a shift of landscape. The empty space was replaced by a gazebo in the middle of a garden filled with flowers. And Fuuka was also fully clothed, but much to her dismay, she was clad in a rather revealing white, silky chiton that left nothing to the imagination. Still blushing, the young woman let out a huff as she gave Juno a dismayed look.

[Now, now, don't give me that look…] Juno made a placating gesture as she took her seat at the gazebo. She brought her slender hand to her masked face before she slowly removed the mask, revealing the face underneath. She set the mask aside and directed a smile at Fuuka. [Now, let's talk.]

The phrase 'I am thou, and thou art I' could never be truer as Fuuka looked at Juno's face that was usually hidden behind her white mask. Her face bore an uncanny resemblance to Fuuka's, except instead of having teal green eyes, Juno's were golden, with red outlines surrounding the irises.

"Those images that I have been seeing these last few days…" Fuuka began as she sat beside Juno. "Those images that I have been seeing ever since I met Aigis' friend, Issei Hyoudou," she paused before she continued, "do you know the significance behind those images?"

She could perfectly recall those images: the gargantuan, scaly monstrosity, whose roars could tear heaven and earth asunder. She could perfectly remember the image of a great saurian beast, expanding its wings before it took flight, and she couldn't help but be in awe.

_Red Emperor._

Those two words lingered in her mind after witnessing such a great beast.

[My other self…] Juno smiled as she brought her gloved hand up to Fuuka's face, stroking her cheek tenderly. [Soon, you shall learn the true significance behind what you have seen. The moment will eventually come, and you will do your best to wait for it.] Her golden eyes flashed as she looked into her counterpart's teal green eyes. [After all, none can escape the sight of the All-Seeing Watcher…]

…

Fuuka opened her eyes, finding herself in her room. Currently, she was kneeling inside the protective sphere of her Persona, Juno. A while ago, she decided to submerge herself into the sea of consciousness so that she could interact with Juno directly. While Juno was her other self, she somehow retained the personality of her original counterpart, the goddess Juno. While Persona Juno might not be the real deal, due to the fact that she retained the original's memories and personality, Fuuka thought that it would be a good idea to consult her regarding the matter that had been troubling her recently.

It's just that she'd rather not get herself constantly teased by Juno. She was glad that the Persona didn't retain her sentience outside of the sea of consciousness while being summoned, or else she might end up getting teased by her whenever she summoned her.

Dismissing Juno, Fuuka got up, looking down. She was clad in a white, long-sleeved sundress, much to her relief. Being naked wasn't something that she'd get used to anytime soon.

"Red… Emperor…" Fuuka muttered. Ever since that day, those two words remained in her mind. Ever since the day she encountered Issei Hyoudou, she had been thinking about those two words and those images more often than not. Sometimes, it was a little frustrating, because she'd like to learn the significance behind everything that happened to her after the encounter with the boy. "Red…" Fuuka said dazedly. "Heavenly Dragon…"

Still in daze, Fuuka continued muttering to herself.

"Ddraig…"

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 17: Priestess and Dragon**

"Umm… Issei-san, a-are you alright? D-do you need help?"

Asia Argento spoke to Issei Hyoudou as they walked down the street. The ex-nun seemed worried as she looked at the perverted boy, who was groaning in pain. Apparently, the boy subjected himself to some intense training regimen, which was arranged by his combat teacher, Pallas Athena. It could be said that the training was physically grueling. Even with his enhanced body as a reincarnated Devil, the training caused him to feel sore all over his body.

Considering that his personal teacher was the goddess of tactical warfare herself, it was already expected. Still, despite the pain, Issei continued with the training so that he could be stronger. By getting stronger, he could protect those who are precious to him. He wouldn't have to suffer losing those he loved, just like that one time, when Asia died.

Issei smiled at Asia. "Don't worry, Asia-chan. I'm strong, y'know?" Then, he winced again. "Ow!"

"I-Issei-san!"

Both reincarnated Devils continued walking down the street as they talked to each other about various things. Asia had been officially adopted by the Hyoudou family, much to the ex-nun's delight. Now she could spend more precious time with Issei.

However, there was one time when she blurted out that she'd like to have Aigis joining in as well. Issei didn't understand what she really meant when she said that. He was fully aware that Asia absolutely adored the robot girl, but considering that Aigis wasn't in the same circumstances as her, adopting her into his household would be hard.

"Say, Issei-san," Asia said. "Do you like Ai-san?"

"Hmm?" Issei glanced at Asia. "Of course. I like Ai-chan."

Asia beamed cheerfully. "I like Ai-san too! She's so kind and so strong!" Her expression turned dreamy as she let out a soft sigh. "And… she's so warm…"

Issei scratched his head. "It's kinda strange, though. I mean, she's a robot, but she feels warm too." He recalled the time when he hugged her together with Asia after he beat Raynare. While Issei would normally not think too much about it, he couldn't help but wonder about how Aigis managed to generate warmth which was rather unmistakable compared to a human's. "Well, maybe she's built like that. Who knows?"

"She's… built like that?" Asia said before she looked down. "Built… like that…" her voice sounded sad.

"Asia-chan?" Issei looked at the ex-nun worriedly.

"Ai-san's pretty, yet… why was she built like that?" Asia said. "The other day, she told me that she was designed as a weapon." She brought her hands together to her chest, clasping them together. She stopped walking and closed her eyes. "She's so gentle, yet… she was designed to be a weapon. Someone gentle… someone kind like Ai-san…" Asia shook her head. "She shouldn't be a weapon."

For Asia, she defined a weapon as a tool that can bring harm to others. A weapon is built to bring forth pain. No matter what terms were used to describe a weapon, Asia knew a weapon is built to destroy.

She couldn't imagine someone as kind and gentle as Aigis was willing to do such a thing to others. Asia acknowledged that she might be naïve for thinking like that, but after seeing what sort of person Aigis was, she simply couldn't help herself.

"Ai-san… she's so kind…" Asia said. "But she told me that her original purpose is to be a weapon. B-but… it's not right. I-it shouldn't be right…"

Issei looked at Asia, and judging from her look, she was on the verge of tears. The perverted boy immediately racked his brain, trying to remember what Aigis had told him before about herself. Then, he brought his hand to Asia's shoulder and looked into her green eyes.

"Asia-chan…" Issei said. "Listen to me. There's something that Ai-chan told me before." He smiled. "Once, there was a person she loved. And I'm sure she still loves that person, even now. And she's willing to do anything to protect that person."

"A person…" Asia tilted her head. "Was this person a boy?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Issei nodded.

"What happened to him?" Asia asked.

Issei averted his eyes. "He… well, he died." He looked at Asia's surprised face. Her eyes widened in realization as she brought her hands to her mouth, covering it.

"P-poor Ai-san…" Asia immediately brought her hands together, trying to make a prayer. "Oww!" She yelped in pain immediately after doing that. As a Devil, even a reincarnated one, doing prayers would result in something like that. Rubbing the sides of her head with her hands, she spoke, "S-so, what happened next?"

"She became sad…" Issei said. "But, she overcame her sadness and made a vow." He smiled as he looked up. "She vowed to protect everyone for the sake of the boy she loved. Even though she's built as a weapon, she wanted to use it as a means to protect others. She wants to be a shield that can protect those behind it from harm. A shield can be considered as a weapon, right? But its purpose is for protection." Then, he awkwardly brought his hand to the back of his head, sheepishly scratching it. "Or at least that's what she told me, hehe…"

"To protect… others…" Asia said. "H-how admirable…" Issei could see the ex-nun's green eyes glittering with admiration for the android girl. "For the sake of the one she loves, she's willing to dedicate herself for the sake of others." She let out a dreamy sigh. "Alright! I've decided! I'll do my best to assist Ai-san too!"

Issei grinned. "That's the spirit! Ai-chan's a superhero! But even superheroes need assistance! She can't do this alone all the time! And we're going to help her!"

Asia smiled delightfully. "Yeah!"

Issei was glad that Asia was in high spirits again. One thing that he had promised to himself was to make sure that Asia would become the happiest girl in the world. And this time, he would not fail ever again. Now that Asia was alive and healthy again, thanks to being reincarnated as a Devil, Issei considered this as his greatest second chance.

To make Asia the happiest girl in the world would be his long-term goal in life. Besides becoming the Harem King, of course.

Both of them continued walking down the street before the boy spotted someone walking towards their direction. He recognized this someone, a young woman with teal-blue hair, attired in a white, long-sleeved sundress, black tights and brown leather boots. Her long, teal-blue hair was braided to the front, and she seemed to be carrying a handbag.

"Ah," the young woman also saw Issei, recognizing him. She smiled at the boy as she spoke, "It's been a while, hasn't it, Issei-san?"

When the young woman approached them, Issei noted that she's pretty cute. He didn't really notice it the first time he met her, because he was in a hurry at that time.

"Y-yeah, it's been a while too…" Issei said, rubbing the back of his head.

Asia blinked a few times as she looked at the cute young woman before she looked at Issei. "Issei-san, do you know her?"

The young woman smiled at the ex-nun before she spoke, "Oh my, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself to you." She bowed slightly. "My name is Fuuka Yamagishi. I've heard about you from Aigis, Argento-san."

Asia looked at the young woman who introduced herself as Fuuka Yamagishi. "Y-you know Ai-san? A-are you her friend?"

Fuuka nodded. "Yes, I'm her friend. And she already told me many things about you too, Argento-san. This is the first time I've met you, so it's nice to finally meet you, Argento-san."

"N-nice to meet you too!" Asia dipped into a bow. "A-and please call me Asia. My friends call me that."

"Asia-san, then…" Fuuka said. "In return, will you call me Fuuka?"

"Y-yes, Fuuka-san," Asia said.

"S-so, umm…" Issei said to Fuuka. "How are you, Fuuka-san?" Due to her being one of Aigis' friends, it would be rude to say some inappropriate things to her. One thing he noticed about the young woman was that she shared the same body type as Asia.

"Ah, I was just on my way to the library…" Fuuka said. "I'm thinking about finding some books there. And probably studying too, I suppose."

"You're a college student, aren't you?" Issei asked.

Fuuka nodded. "Yes." The real reason why she was enrolled in the college department of Kuoh Academy was to be Aigis' technician, but there was no need for Fuuka to tell both Issei and Asia about that. "And, by the way, Aigis will be back the day after tomorrow. She told me to tell you two about that."

Issei grinned. "Yeah, that's cool. Thanks for telling us, Fuuka-san."

"You're welcome," Fuuka said, smiling at the boy. "I shall be on my way, then."

"Alright, have a safe trip, Fuuka-san," Issei said to Fuuka.

"Let's meet again soon, Fuuka-san," Asia said, bowing politely to Fuuka.

Nodding, Fuuka walked past both of them, going down the street before she arrived at an intersection. She was unaware of an incoming, speeding car that came towards her direction as she walked.

And Issei, who wasn't still too far from her, took a glance behind, and saw that Fuuka was in danger. Without even thinking, he turned behind and dashed over her direction.

As for Fuuka, she finally noticed the incoming car, but it was already too late. She had no time to avoid being hit, and all she could do was brace herself, closing her eyes. She felt like a deer in the headlights, unable to move as the car approached her without any signs of slowing down.

"Fuuka-san!"

She didn't expect having a pair of arms wrapping around her. She opened her eyes and saw Issei grabbing her after leaping towards her, bringing her out of harm's way. Issei had leaped away after grabbing her, and both of them were in midair.

"Eh?"

Fuuka was too stunned to respond to this turn of events, and she didn't even realize that one of Issei's hands was pressed against her chest. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a pair of leathery wings on Issei's back, thus explaining why both of them were in midair. The speeding car went past them, and they were out of harm's way. Once they landed, she would be safe and all problems would be solved.

Unfortunately for both of them, especially to Issei, he wasn't really that skilled in flight, due to him being a recently-reincarnated Devil. He was unable to maneuver properly with his wings as both of them descended down, thanks to the law of gravity. And to make thing even worse, the momentum of his leap earlier brought both of them closer and closer to a lamp post.

"W-watch out!"

Crash!

"Urgh!"

"Eek!"

"Issei-san!"

Issei ended up hitting his head against the lamp post, leaving a noticeable dent on it. His arms were still wrapped around Fuuka so that she wouldn't get hurt due to the collision. Fuuka was on top of him, and she was too confused to even try to make sense to any of the things that happened to them.

Squish!

"Kya!"

Then, Fuuka finally realized that Issei's hand was still on her chest, and as a result, her cheeks turned red.

As for Issei, despite his bleeding head, he displayed a lecherous grin before he spoke, "S-soft…"

And then he passed out.

"I-Issei-san!" Asia's cry resounded through the area.

* * *

_"Where… where am I?"_

_When I came back to my senses, I noticed that I was in a dark place. I was unable to see everything around me other than myself. Strangely, despite the lack of lighting, I was able to see myself just fine._

_And for some reason, I was naked. How the hell did I end up being naked?!_

_Still, the nakedness wasn't my primary concern, as I looked down to see my left arm. I saw the familiar, jeweled red gauntlet with glowing green outlines that covered my left arm. Instead of a normal, human hand, the fingers of my hand were jagged and claw-like. I clenched my draconic-looking hand into a fist._

_Boosted Gear._

_From what others had told me, Boosted Gear is one of the thirteen Longinus, the top-tier Sacred Gears that are capable of killing gods. From Buchou's explanation, Boosted Gear is capable of amplifying and doubling its user's power every ten seconds. Give it enough time, Boosted Gear could be used to vanquish a god-like opponent._

_Still, how did I end up here? When I tried to recall the last thing that happened to me before I came back to my senses, I saved Fuuka-san from being hit by an incoming car, but I ended up hitting my head against a lamp post. Man, that was kinda embarrassing!_

_At least I got to grope Fuuka-san's breasts. They weren't too big like Buchou's or Akeno-san, but they were soft and squishy, just like Asia-chan's._

_Damn, focus! Instead of daydreaming about someone's breasts, it was important for me to focus on why I was here, in this place._

_Then, I noticed two green, glowing orbs before me. I looked up to see them before they moved. After that, I heard the sounds of rough, ragged breathing. I began to see the silhouette of a gargantuan creature; its outline could be clearly seen despite the darkness._

_Then the creature opened its mouth, unleashing a loud, beastly roar that shook everything around me. The beast before me was a creature of pure rage, pure power. And then it expanded its large, leathery wings, as those two glowing green orbs, which were evidently its eyes, looked straight at me, as if staring deep into me._

_Only one word could describe the great beast before me._

_Magnificent._

* * *

"Uh…"

"H-he's waking up!" Asia let out a cry of relief when Issei finally stirred from his state of unconsciousness. She was using her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, to heal Issei's injury that he got after hitting his head against a lamp post. Beside the ex-nun, Fuuka was also looking at Issei, looking worried.

There were at a bench, and Issei was lying on it. Asia used her lap as a pillow to put Issei's head on while healing his head injury.

"A-Asia-chan?" Issei said groggily, blinking a few times as he saw Asia's teary eyes. Then he looked at Fuuka's face, whose cheeks were red, due to some reasons. Perhaps she's just worried about him. And shaken too, as well, because she almost got herself hit by a car just a while ago. After a while, he got up and looked at Fuuka. "Fuuka-san, are you alright?! Are you hurt?!"

He definitely wouldn't forgive himself if Fuuka ended up being hurt at that time. He didn't want Fuuka, Aigis' friend, to be hurt while in his presence. He simply couldn't allow it.

"I-I'm alright," Fuuka stuttered, looking away in embarrassment. "I didn't see the car coming…" Fuuka brought her hand to her face, feeling a little ashamed because she didn't see the car, despite her power that allowed her to see everything. Then, she lowered her hand before she gave Issei a bashful smile. "Anyways, thank you, Issei-san. I… I really appreciate the help."

Issei grinned. "Don't mention it! I'm glad you're safe!" Then, he winced. "Oww! My head!"

"I-Issei-san, your head isn't fully healed yet! Don't move too much!" Asia told Issei as she continued pouring the healing aura onto Issei's head so that the wound could be fully healed. Despite the lowered effectiveness of the Sacred Gear after being extracted by Raynare, it still could function properly to heal others.

"Well, let's bring you home," Issei said after Asia was done healing his head. He figured that after a close brush with death earlier, Fuuka was probably shaken up and she probably needed some rest at her place. He got up and held out his hand to Fuuka. "Let's go now, Fuuka-san. We'll walk you home."

"Umm…" Fuuka hesitantly took Issei's hand.

"Alright, let's go!" Issei said.

"Let's go!" Asia repeated what Issei said.

So, both Issei and Asia escorted Fuuka back to her place. She didn't say anything on their way back to her apartment, and both Issei and Asia thought that she definitely needed some rest.

Issei seemed to be blissfully unaware of the bashful look Fuuka gave him.

_"This feeling…"_

Fuuka could hear Juno snickering inside her head. She chose to ignore her. She didn't want to make her embarrassment seem apparent due to the constant teasing from her Persona, who somehow chose to be self-aware this time around.

_"Issei… Issei Hyoudou…"_

* * *

"And that's everything that I can give you right now…"

Azazel leaned back after he listened to the strange, robed man before him. They were at a café, and while the robed man seemed to catch the interest of passersby, thanks to the barrier that Azazel created earlier. No one seemed to do more than just spare a glance at him.

"Ah, thank you for the info, old friend," Azazel said. "As expected from the legendary Persona-user himself, Swami Chandraputra…"

The strange man, Swami Chandraputra lowered his head. "You will be surprised how much a man can learn after encountering something that exceeds human comprehension, Azazel." He lifted one of his ceramic arms. "Even my current condition has something to do with my encounter with something that should never be comprehended."

Azazel shifted his seat as he looked at the surface of the limb. "The Faceless King, you mean?"

Chandraputra nodded. "It will be only a matter of time before he fully emerges. He was defeated once, and now, he is prepared to continue what he started." He lowered his hand. "Humanity has no shortage of champions to fight him, but… this time, there is no guarantee whether humanity's champions can emerge victorious again or not."

"And we, the supernatural beings, have to stay at the sidelines as humanity struggles for their survival?" Azazel asked.

"It depends," Chandraputra replied. "If he chooses the same method as before, you may as well not get yourselves involved. But, I am sure that he will not use the same method that had failed him. The possibility of him trying to get you and the rest of the supernatural factions involved is there."

Azazel sighed. "And we will have to fight again, then."

Chandraputra studied the Fallen Angel's expression before he shifted his seat. "Then, we are done, for now." He looked at the person who was standing beside Azazel the whole time when they were talking. "Ah, you have yet to introduce the boy to me, old friend."

"Yes, I almost forgot," Azazel said as he gestured to the white-haired young man beside him. "This is Vali. He's under my charge. Do forgive him for his lack of participation in our discussion, old friend. He's not the most talkative person out there."

"I see…" Chandraputra mused before he looked at Vali again. "Still, your eyes remind me of someone. And the aura you radiate…" He stroked his beard as he studied Vali. "Are you perhaps related to-"

"I know what you are going to say, and you better not say it if you know what is good for you," Vali said bluntly, cutting Chandraputra off. Despite his mask-like visage, the strange robed man seemed visibly startled, but he soon composed himself.

"Ah, I see…" Chandraputra tipped his head. "Do forgive me, then. An old man like me has no way to know when to shut up, I suppose."

As for Azazel, he sighed. He knew well why Vali acted like that, and he was wise about not saying anything related to it also.

Then, Chandraputra got up from his seat. "Please excuse me, then. Till we meet again, old friend." He walked out of the café, ignoring the curious looks from the other people around him.

The robed man decided to go back where he resided, a place where only the selected ones could enter. But, as he walked, he noticed that he was being followed by someone. After a while, he stopped walking.

"Boy…" Chandraputra spoke without looking back. Vali was seen standing behind him, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked at the back of the robed man. "Are you perhaps interested in an old man like me?" Chandraputra then chuckled. "You sure have quite a peculiar taste, boy."

"Cut the shit right now, old man…" Vali said. His lips curled up into a grin as he continued, "Azazel called you 'the legendary Persona-user'." His grin turned manic. "Does that mean you're strong?"

Chandraputra was silent for a few moments before he let out a soft sigh. He turned around to look at the white-haired young man directly. "It is true that I am legendary. Still, legendary does not equal strong, boy." Then he shook his head. "And even if I am strong, I do not wish to fight you, the one who carries the spirit of the white dragon." After a few seconds of silence, he continued, "So, is that why the Grigori took an interest in you? Because of your Sacred Gear?"

"Tch…" Vali seemed rather disappointed. Then, he spoke, "About what Azazel said earlier, about humanity's greatest champions… are they strong?"

"It depends…" Chandraputra said. "Sometimes, they do not wish to be given the strength to become humanity's greatest champions. If anything, they are nothing more than just puppets of fate, moving according to the strings attached on them. But in any case, if the strings are no longer attached to them, they will become a force beyond reckoning."

"Hmph…" Vali then turned around and started to leave. Chandraputra just looked as the white-haired young man left him, disappearing into the crowd.

"Such an unpredictable young man…" Chandraputra muttered. "Still, it is a wonder that Azazel managed to get a hold on him."

The robed man looked up.

"Let us hope that the boy does not catch the interest of the chaos that crawls within the darkness, or else the incoming conflict may end up becoming more chaotic and more unpredictable than before…"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello, it's me, Prince Arjuna. Finally, I managed to update this story, Heart of a Butterfly, after having problem with this chapter. I admit that it's kind of hard to write this chapter due to writer's block. I had to rewrite this chapter at least three times. So, this chapter, as you can see, is kind of filler-ish and a little short than the usual chapters, and Aigis didn't even appear, even though her name is mentioned many times. So, I'd like to return to the main plot for the next chapter, and perhaps it will be time for me to deal with Riser arc. It's going to be hard, considering many things that I don't feel like mentioning here, but... well, wish me luck, I guess?

Also, special thanks to **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It is so nice working alongside you, partner.

So, I hope you guys like this chapter, and please stay tuned and look forward for the next chapter, **Chapter 18: Rising Phoenix.** Until then, farewell.

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	18. Rising Phoenix

"Very well, boy, let's see what you've got now!" Pallas Athena said as she stood before Issei Hyoudou, whose left hand was already covered in his jeweled gauntlet, the Sacred Gear known as Boosted Gear.

Issei grinned. "Alright, here I come, Athena-sensei!" He shouted as his wings emerged from his back, extending to their full lengths. He clenched his gauntleted fist when the emerald jewel on the gauntlet glowed.

"Come, boy! Do not disappoint your teacher!" Pallas Athena bellowed as her grand shield, the Aegis, materialized. It was said that the shield bore the face of the monstrous Gorgon, who was slain by the hero Perseus. Her severed head was then mounted on the divine shield, thus giving it the power to stun those who were unfortunate enough to see it. Just seeing the frowning visage of Gorgon on the shield was enough to make Issei flinch, but he braced himself, knowing that he might end up disappointing his teacher if he ended up freezing in fear.

"Graah!" With his gauntlet doubling his strength, he dashed towards the goddess of wisdom, propelling himself forward with the help of his wings. As he stopped right in front of the shield, he threw a punch right onto the shield with all his strength.

"Guh!" While the Aegis was impenetrable, Pallas Athena was still able to feel the force of the punch Issei threw at her, and with the strength of his punch doubled thanks to his Sacred Gear, the punch was stronger than any normal punches. When Issei's fist collided against the divine shield, a shockwave was generated. If one looked closely, there was some sort of ripple created on the ground from the shockwave.

Still, even though the punch was powerful, if a counterattack could be easily made, it would be useless. Athena immediately shifted her shield, moving it without even touching it, and Issei was there, standing right in front of her. His fist was still extended after that punch, and he had yet to draw it back, giving the goddess a chance to grab the gauntleted hand and tug him towards her.

Even so, Issei wasn't finished yet. Now that he was pulled towards the goddess, he used the force generated from the pull to empower his attack onto Athena's throat. Issei managed to land a strike, with the goddess slightly flinching from the strike.

Athena showed a grin. Whenever a goddess grins, it's a good sign for a mortal to run away as fast as he or she can.

Even though Issei's strike cleanly hit her throat, Issei was quite close to her, which enabled her to grapple him. Issei struggled to keep standing, but he was unable to do so as he landed on his back. Athena raised her fist, and the boy instinctively brought his gauntleted hand to his face in order to protect himself before the goddess brought down her fist to punch him in the face.

The strength of the punch was enough to crack the ground below Issei, and he let out a groan of pain when the shockwave generated from the punch spread all over his body. On the plus side, he was able to protect his face using his gauntleted hand. However, he might need reconstructive surgery for his face if he took the divine-powered punch head-on.

"You lose again, boy…" Pallas Athena said, sitting on Issei's body while the boy was lying on the ground.

"Ha…" Issei panted. He still could feel the pain all over his body after taking the hit from his teacher earlier. "Y-you're so strong, S-Sensei…"

The goddess let out a haughty huff as she folded her arms under her chest. "Of course I am strong, boy. I am the goddess of wisdom for a reason." She then looked at Issei's face and smiled warmly, which was kind of rare. "Still, you are improving. You are clearly stronger than before." She then got up from Issei's body, standing up. "Take my hand, boy. We'll start again."

"Yes!" Issei said, taking the hand to get up on his feet. Then, they continued their sparring.

Not too far from them, Aigis and Rias were watching both the holder of Boosted Gear and the Persona who took the form of the Greek goddess of wisdom exchanging punches and kicks. The red-haired Devil flinched when her Pawn was flung over the goddess' shoulder for the umpteenth time.

"When you said 'special training' to me earlier, I didn't think it meant 'beating him senseless'," Rias commented as she glanced at Aigis. In order to keep Pallas Athena around, the mechanical maiden had to be conscious. "I was thinking of an 'endurance test' or something along those lines…"

"True, but I also noticed that Issei-san's inclination towards close-ranged combat. In a way, this training really is an endurance test for him," Aigis stated. "While it may seem harsh, by taking vicious beatings repeatedly, he is able to learn how to take them while in real combat situations. Also, he'll be able to gain higher pain resistance if this continues…" Aigis then shrugged. "But I do not think that I have any right to say anything about pain resistance, considering that I am designed purely as a weapon. Being able to feel pain is a liability for an ASW like me."

"I see… but you are capable of feeling other things like sense of touch or taste, right?" Rias asked, curious.

"Yes, I am capable of feeling them." Aigis nodded. "Also, while Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons may not feel pain while injured, that does not mean we are invulnerable. Damages dealt to our bodies may affect our battle performance, and there's also some… discomfort, might I add." She held out her finger. "Imagine losing one of your arms or losing a chunk of your torso, even though you cannot feel the pain. Losing something that is always there may feel a little awkward, don't you think?"

"Well, I see your point." Rias still couldn't imagine herself losing her limbs or any of her body parts, because she's not a robot. Devil or not, there's still the nervous system to consider. "Still, Aigis…" She looked at Aigis with expectant eyes. "About my offer the other day... have you considered it?" She asked.

Aigis blinked as she looked at the red-haired girl beside her. A few days ago, after she returned from her 'one-week break', Rias had given her an offer to join her peerage. The offer was also extended to her sister, Labrys. She had reasoned that there were many benefits of joining one's peerage, as well as a way for Aigis, an agent sent by an organization called the "Shadow Operatives", to learn the true nature about supernatural existences much easier. Rias also insisted that the new generation of the Devils were not the same like the old one, so the android girl wouldn't have to worry about anything underhanded that might come after being converted into a Devil.

Aigis, on the other hand, had reported to her superior, Mitsuru Kirijo, about the offer. Even though she already knew the answer, as a subordinate, it was her responsibility to report anything regarding this matter to the leader of the Shadow Operatives. Mitsuru did not outright tell her whether to accept or decline, but Aigis knew what needed to be done in order to respond to the offer given by Rias Gremory.

"Gremory-san…" Aigis began. "I apologize in advance, but… I have no desire to join your peerage. And I do believe that my sister, Labrys, also thinks of the same thing as well. Also, my duty is for the sake of mankind, and if I were to change myself into something else entirely, that would be a betrayal to the duty that I had given to myself. I know that I am not a human, but I do not wish to distance myself from humanity even further."

She had vowed that she would continue fighting for the sake of humanity that was saved by a lone boy who currently resided between humanity's malice and death itself. A boy, in his lonesome, had prevented all lives on earth from ending. To change herself into something that was more inhuman than her current self would be her greatest betrayal to her memories of him.

"And I believe that it may not work on me," Aigis brought up her second reason. "As I am an android, I believe an Evil Piece won't work on me to convert me into a Devil." While there might be some possibility of a mechanical lifeform like Aigis to be reincarnated into a Devil using an Evil Piece, she considered that the price of proving the possibility to be not worth it. Also, it might cause irreparable damage if the conversion were to be done.

"I see…" Rias mused. "Well, that's too bad, then." Then, she smiled. "I guess I won't be asking you anymore, then. Still, even though you're not going to accept my offer anytime soon, will you continue taking care of Issei?" She glanced at her Pawn, who was currently blocking punches from Pallas Athena. "He seems to think highly of you, Aigis-san."

"Of course," Aigis replied unhesitatingly. "After all, he's my friend. I will always help him whenever he needs it."

"That's good to hear," Rias said. "But to think that my cute minion is mostly attached to you rather than to me..." She let out a sigh as she placed one of her hands on her cheek, feigning sadness. "I'm feeling a little jealous, you know?"

Aigis blinked and tilted her head to one side. "What are you trying to imply, Gremory-san?"

"It's nothing." Rias lowered her hand. "Still, I'm counting on you, Aigis-san. Considering all the things that happen to Issei, he needs all the help he can get. I was the one who turned him into a Devil, so it is my responsibility to take care of his well-being."

"Do not worry, Gremory-san. Even if you don't ask me to, I will do it regardless. Issei-san is my friend, and there's no changing that…" Aigis said. She was able to tell that Rias Gremory was a caring person who always took care of her subordinates. She's like a warmer, more approachable Mitsuru Kirijo. Even her red hair reminded her of the leader of the Shadow Operatives.

"Good to hear that. Still, what a pity…" Rias sighed. "It would have been nice if you accepted my offer. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider, Aigis-san?"

"I made myself clear, did I not?" Aigis said. "Didn't you say you won't ask anymore?" She looked at Rias, one eyebrow raised.

"Fine, fine… I'll stop," Rias finally relented. "Geez, I'm just joking with you, you know?"

"Glad you understand, Gremory-san." Aigis smiled. "And I'm glad that it's just a joke," she added.

As she talked to Rias, Aigis could feel a warm sensation in her chest. It was a familiar feeling, and she closed her eyes as she tried to envision what had been formed within the sea of her soul.

_Imperatrice._

She remembered what those from the Velvet Room had said regarding the power of Wild Cards. By gaining understanding in others, she would be able to see the world through different perspectives and views, thus allowing her to call forth the manifestations of her other self that were born from her understanding in others. By understanding Rias Gremory, she gained a Link in the form of a Tarot Card, Imperatrice, which was an alternate form of the Empress.

"What's wrong, Aigis-san?" Rias asked when she noticed that Aigis seemed to be deep in thought.

"Ah, it's nothing…" Aigis replied before she continued watching the training session, where Issei got himself a mean uppercut from Pallas Athena.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 18: Rising Phoenix**

Due to the intense training regimen from Pallas Athena, Issei seemed to look like a living corpse the next day, resting his head on his desk as soon as he arrived at school. He didn't even join his fellow perverts, Motohama and Matsuda, who were indulging themselves in perversion like always.

It was early in the morning, so there weren't many people in class at the moment. Motohama and Matsuda were currently waiting near the stairway in order to take a peek of the female students' panties.

"Umm…" Asia was worried as she went closer to Issei. "A-are you okay, Issei-san?"

Despite his miserable state, Issei forced himself to grin. He'd rather die than appear weak in front of Asia. "Heh… i-it's nothing, Asia-chan. I… I am tough, y'see?"

Aigis also approached him and gave him a worried look. Then she exchanged looks with Asia.

"Do you need a little break from the training, Issei-san?" Aigis asked. "I mean, growing stronger is good, but you should take care of your health as well." Despite being an android, she knew the significance of keeping one's health. She even made sure to give herself regular maintenance with the help of her technician, Fuuka.

"Y-yeah, Ai-san's right!" Asia agreed. "W-why don't you take a rest for today?"

"Uh…" Issei seemed unsure. "B-but… I-I still can go on…"

Aigis and Asia blinked. For some reason, Issei was being stubborn. Then, the blond android let out a sigh. "I suppose I have no other choice but do this…"

"D-do what?"

For a while, nothing happened as Aigis closed her eyes. Then, she reopened them, revealing a pair of grey eyes instead of clear blue ones. Issei gulped, suddenly reeling from the intensity of those grey eyes. He recognized the look that Aigis gave him because it was so familiar to him.

"I will confiscate all your porn magazines and DVDs if you don't want to take a rest for a day, boy…" Aigis (?) spoke. Even though the voice was Aigis', the tone she used was different. It somehow reminded him of a certain Greek goddess. "And I will burn them if you continue being stubborn."

"S-Sensei?!" Issei gasped. "I-is that you?" He asked.

"Of course. Like I told you before, I am her other self. Both of us are one and the same, the two sides of the same coin. Of course my personality can overtake her body," Aigis, or rather, Athena, spoke. "Still, this is quite interesting. I've never done this before, you see? To have a physical appearance instead of being made of pure thought, this is quite an interesting experience. I wonder if she can agree to lend me this body," she mused before she shrugged. "Still, giving me complete control of this body may cause her main personality to disappear, which can cause trouble for all the other personalities she has."

Issei was looking at Aigis, who was really Athena, in amazement. He never knew she could do this. "S-so… you want me to take a break or something?"

"Well, it's regrettable, but it has to be done. You may be a Devil, but you're still pretty much a mortal. Breaking every bone of your body may not sound healthy if we do that every day…" Athena said. "You can take a rest for today. Or maybe for a few days. You need to recover first before we can continue with your training. Have I made myself clear, boy?"

"Y-yeah… I get it, Sensei…" Issei said. After all, the fate of his porn collection depended on his decision, and he decided that he'd rather not have them destroyed anytime soon.

"Good," Athena said before her grey eyes turned back to blue as Aigis' main personality regained control. "Ah…"

"Umm…" Asia was unsure of what to say about what happened in front of her. "Ai-san, what was that all about?" She glanced around to see whether the other students saw what happened to Aigis or not.

"I was possessed by my Persona," Aigis said. "Athena is my alternate self, whose personality is based on the original Pallas Athena. As long as she is self-aware, she is capable of gaining control of my body." She held out her finger. "However, she can only do that under my permission. Even though she may be the same as the original Pallas Athena, the one inside me is born from my soul. She won't be able to take control of my body without my permission," the android girl explained to the ex-nun.

"Ah, is that so?" Asia nodded several times after digesting the new information. It looked like she was a bit interested in Aigis' power. "Still," she beamed at Issei, "you're going to rest for a few days, Issei-san. Let's go straight home after school, okay?" Asia said in a sweet voice. She had been living with Issei for quite some time, so it's only natural for her to go home together with the boy after school.

"Y-yeah…" Issei replied.

Suddenly, the door was opened, revealing Labrys, who was dragging two boys. One of them was a bespectacled one, while the other was a bald one. They were Motohama and Matsuda, two of the three members of the Perverted Trio of Kuoh Academy. It seemed that both of them were caught red-handed while trying to take a peek at the girls' panties by Labrys.

"These two ain't gettin' their lessons," Labrys sighed as she brought both Matsuda and Motohama by their collars. The students of the class had seen this kind of scenario a few times after Labrys got transferred into Kuoh Academy. At first, they were astonished that someone was capable of stopping those perverts from their pursuit of debauchery. "Be grateful I didn't leave ya two to those girls…"

"Urgh… h-how…?" One of the perverts, Matsuda, whimpered as he was dragged off into the classroom together with his fellow pervert, Motohama, by the ponytailed girl. It seemed that Labrys managed to catch him, despite him being a former school sports star. It seemed that he could no longer rely on his capability to run away from danger because someone managed to surpass him in terms of athleticism.

Of course, he didn't know that the new student was a robot.

"I-Issei! Help us!" Motohama cried out for Issei's name. He hoped that he could escape from whatever Labrys had on her mind by having their fellow pervert saving them. And considering that Issei was a good friend to Aigis, Labrys' sister, he was certain that it would work for them.

As for Issei, due to his tiredness, he did not respond to Motohama's cry for help. He simply rested his head on his desk while Asia was patting his head tenderly. There was an expression of utter bliss on his face while he was patted by the cute ex-nun.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Both Matsuda and Motohama screamed as Labrys decided to deliver punishment to both perverts right after dragging them both into the classroom.

The details of the punishment were better left unmentioned.

* * *

After school, Asia walked Issei home, and both Aigis and Labrys were free to do anything. Labrys decided to hang out with some friends she made, leaving her sister alone. Aigis didn't really mind, considering that Labrys needed to socialize more in order to familiarize herself into society. And also considering that Labrys seemed troubled these last few days, hanging out with friends might be something she truly needed.

As for Aigis, she decided to visit the Velvet Room. She held out her palm, letting the Velvet Key materialize on it. Then, the door that would lead her into the Velvet Room appeared in front of her. Other students weren't aware of the door, and she wouldn't physically enter the room, so she wouldn't have to worry about being seen by students while entering the Velvet Room.

She closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, she was already in the Velvet Room. Waiting in the room was the proprietor of the Velvet Room, the ever-grinning Igor, together with his two assistants, Margaret and Theodore. The three of them were looking at the Wild Card expectantly.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my lady…" Igor greeted Aigis. His grin grew wider as Aigis held out her hand, and a glowing blue card manifested itself, hovering a few inches away from her palm. "Ah, it seems that you have forged another bond. How fascinating…" The card flew towards Margaret, who then held out her right hand. The card landed on her palm before it hovered a few inches away from it. She inspected it for a moment, and there was a twinkle of curiosity in her glowing, golden eyes.

"What a comforting warmth…" Margaret said after she was done inspecting the card. "Though unlike the High Priestess and the Popess, this warmth feels more… motherly, I must say. This feeling of protectiveness..." Margaret closed her eyes as she continued feeling the warmth that radiated from the card. "Such motherly affection, such kindness…" There was a melancholic smile on the assistant's face. "Imperatrice, an alternate form of the Empress, of course it will involve motherly affection…"

After she was done, the card flew onto the table in front of Igor. "Now, let us see what form this bond will take…" Igor said as he swayed his gloved hand, and the card glowed. A symbol started to form below the card before it broke into pieces. Within the Velvet Room, a figure started to form, and Theodore opened his compendium.

The figure took the form of a woman, clad in an outfit that accentuated her womanly figure, which consisted of a leotard made of leather and a half-skirt made of white silk. She also seemed to be wearing a pair of leather boots, which were the same color as her leather leotard. Even so, she was regal in appearance, and she was wearing a gem-encrusted tiara. There was a short sword sheathed on her hip and a round shield strapped on her back. Although her expression seemed stern while materializing, as soon as she looked at Aigis, her rouged lips curled up into a warm smile.

"From Imperatrice, the one who emerges from the sea of your soul is Boudicca, the Warrior Queen of Britons," upon being introduced by Theodore, the newly-formed Persona, Boudicca, bowed slightly to Aigis. "According to the compendium, Boudicca led her people in an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. How courageous of her to pick up a sword in order to rouse her people to fight the invading enemies…" Theodore then closed his compendium.

"Pleased to meet you," Aigis said to Boudicca. The Warrior Queen nodded before she dissipated into motes of blue light. After Boudicca disappeared, the air around them shimmered, and Igor tilted his head, noting the phenomenon with curiosity in his eyes.

"Ah, it seems that something is happening within the sea of your soul…" Igor said before Scathach appeared. "Very interesting…" The Ruler of the Land of Shadows floated in the air for a few moments before she landed in front of Aigis. "Very interesting, indeed…" Igor said as he grinned gleefully.

"Scathach?" Aigis looked at Scathach bemusedly.

"It seems that there was some change within your sea of soul that affects one of your bonds with others," Margaret spoke. "Due to the demise of the Popess, however short it was, it caused an irregularity that we did not foresee beforehand. And due to the irregularity, another Persona was born." A figure started to form beside Scathach, and the figure took the form of a woman who physically resembled Scathach, but unlike Scathach, her revealing outfit was red in color instead of black. And she seemed to be trying to cover her exposed skin in a rather bashful manner. Her eyes were also glowing like Scathach's, but they were green in color.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect this…" Scathach said as she glanced at her lookalike. "But due to Asia Argento's temporary death, the link was severed temporarily, and when the link was reestablished, there was some kind of… mix-up. Let's just say… I gave birth to a new Persona…"

"Gave birth?" Aigis blinked in confusion as she looked at Scathach's lookalike, who was fiddling with her fingers. "Does that mean… this one is your daughter?"

"Yes." Scathach nodded. "Her name is Uathach. From now on, she will be one of your Personas…"

"P-please treat me well!" Uathach said shyly before she hid herself behind her mother's back.

"Umm… yes, please treat me well too," Aigis said in an uncertain tone. Then, both Scathach and Uathach disappeared, and Aigis could feel both of them inside her sea of soul. There was some kind of commotion happening within it, but she decided to ignore it.

"Quite an interesting phenomenon…" Igor commented. "Perhaps this is the power of the Wild Card…"

"Seems to be that way, Master…" Margaret deadpanned.

So, after everything was sorted out, Aigis exited from the Velvet Room and returned back to the real world. While she might have spent a considerable amount of time within the room, in reality, only a second or two had passed. So, all that happened within the Velvet Room occurred within the span of one or two seconds.

"Now, what should I do next?" Aigis muttered to herself. She considered joining her sister, but before she could walk away, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Kiba and Koneko. The white-haired petite girl showed a rather neutral expression while the blond boy was smiling. "Kiba-san? Toujou-san?"

"Aigis-san…" Kiba began. "I'm sorry if this is too sudden, but Buchou wants to meet you. She said there's something important that she wants to tell you," the handsome boy said. "She told us to find you and tell you this."

"Is that so?" Aigis said. "Very well. Please lead the way."

"She's at the clubhouse," Kiba said before both him and Koneko led her to where Rias was waiting. They entered the schoolhouse, and Aigis saw Rias sitting on the sofa, her expression seemingly solemn. Akeno was also inside the club, and her expression looked serious, just like Rias'.

"Buchou, I brought Aigis-san," Kiba informed.

"Thank you, Yuuto…" Rias said before she got up from her seat and walked over to Aigis. "I'm sorry for disturbing you at this time, but this is important…"

"I do not mind," Aigis replied. "What it is that you wish to tell me, Gremory-san?" She asked.

For a few moments, Rias didn't say anything. The atmosphere within the Occult Research Club was heavy, and no one in the room made any sounds. After a few moments of silence, Rias finally spoke, "It's about my offer to you the other day…"

Aigis raised one eyebrow. "Didn't you say that you will ask me no more about the offer?" She didn't realize that her tone was a little harsher, perhaps due to her annoyance towards Rias, who seemed to be forgetting her promise to not bring up anything related to the offer again. "I believe my answer to the offer was already made clear. If there is nothing else, then I shall take my lea-"

"No!" Rias suddenly said, cutting off Aigis' words. Aigis blinked in confusion. "Please… please hear me out, Aigis-san…" She said. Her tone sounded like she was pleading to her. "I know that you won't accept my offer, but still, hear me out. The situation is different now…" Aigis could see a hint of worry in the Devil's eyes as she spoke in a soft voice. It seemed that whatever Rias was trying to tell her, it was something serious.

"Different?" Aigis frowned.

"Yes, it's different…" Rias said before she bowed. "So, please… don't leave. I want you to listen to us first. I'm begging you…"

Aigis was astonished by the sight of Rias bowing her head in front of her. "Very well. I… I will listen to you, Gremory-san…" While her answer to Rias' offer had already been made clear, hearing her out wouldn't hurt. Also, she was curious about the important thing that Rias wanted to tell her, because from her tone, it was something truly serious. Even the other members of the club seemed to have conflicted expressions on their faces while their president was bowing her head. Well, not everyone, considering that Issei and Asia had already returned home earlier.

"Thank you…" Rias said. "This is a very serious matter. I'm not sure whether it's right to ask you about this, but… I don't think there's another way for me either. For starters…" She took a deep breath before she continued, "I'm going to be married."

In response, Aigis could only blink in confusion. Out of all the things she thought Rias could say, she did not expect what she just heard.

* * *

Outside the clubhouse, there was a bird watching the members of the Occult Research Club. In reality, the bird was a familiar, and through the familiar's eyes, its master was able to see what was happening inside the clubhouse.

The master smirked as he continued watching them through his familiar's eyes. He could never get enough of her look, the look of one named Rias Gremory. Taking a sip of his wine, he chuckled as he saw her anguished expression.

Truly, she looked spectacularly beautiful, even more beautiful than those who were with him at the moment, in fact.

Still, he was a patient man. He would play by her rules at the moment. He would humor her as a sign of his mercy towards her. After all, she would be married to him no matter what she wanted to do. It's only natural for a patient man like him to show mercy.

And even if she wanted to retaliate, wanting to strike him down to deny him, that wouldn't be a problem. Even with her Power of Destruction, he wouldn't have to worry about her, because if he were to fall due to her retaliation, he would get up again, and again, and again. No matter what, he would stand up again. Nothing could stop him. Even from ashes, he would be reborn anew. No matter what she would do, all her efforts would be useless, because nothing from her and the members of her peerage would be able to keep him down.

Just like a phoenix.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hi, it's me, Prince Arjuna. So, I'm sorry for the late update. It's been one month since the last update of this story, isn't it? So, here we go, Chapter 18 of Heart of a Butterfly. And it seems that we have returned back to the main plot after a few chapters of fillers, huzzah! This current arc will focus on DxD characters, especially Rias and Issei. And for those who are worried about Aigis being turned into a Devil, don't be. She won't turn into a Devil in this story, that I will promise. She won't be turned, in any shape or form, into anything else. And this arc will also feature the Rating Game, and I'll try my best to make it interesting and refreshing for you guys.

Also, special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice to work alongside you.

So, I hope you guys like this chapter, and please leave some reviews, will ya? Or else the author may end up losing his creativity juice. Man, it's been a while since the last time I wrote that, hehe. Please stay tuned and wait for the next chapter, **Chapter 19: Riser Phenex.** See you guys next time! Bye!

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	19. Riser Phenex

Sona Sitri wasn't in the best of mood while reading the paper in her hand. Letting out a heavy sigh, she put the paper down on her table, together with some other papers before she removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had been reading the papers that she received for quite some time, and they seemed to be the main source of her apparent headache.

"Just this once, I'm unhappy with the fact that Rias is currently dealing with her engagement," Sona, who was also known among the student body as Souna Shitori, muttered to herself. "With her currently busy dealing with her own problem, now I have to deal with this thing on my own. So unfair," she grumbled. It was rare to see the usually-composed and calm female student like her, who was also the president of Kuoh Academy's Student Council, to act grumpy like that. The vice-president of the Student Council, Tsubaki Shinra, who was also currently in the Student Council room, saw it, and tilted her head.

"Kaichou," Tsubaki addressed the president after she adjusted her glasses. "Did something happen?" The long-haired, bespectacled beauty asked, putting down a book she was reading as she looked at Sona.

Sona looked at Tsubaki before she answered, "This happened." She took the papers from her table into her hand, showing them to the vice-president. "There's a serial killer out there who seems to be targeting the students of Kuoh Academy. There are at least six victims, all females."

Tsubaki quirked one eyebrow as she walked over to Sona's table. "A serial killer targeting female students?"

"Yes. An announcement will be made soon to inform the student body to be careful while outside the school grounds," Sona said. "And to make things even worse, we also have to deal with this matter as soon as possible."

"Do you mean we have to get involved too?" Tsubaki asked.

"Of course." Sona nodded.

"Kaichou," the vice president took the papers from Sona but she didn't read them yet as she looked at the president, "I thought we shouldn't be involved in that sort of matter. While it is our responsibility as the Student Council to ensure the safety of the student body of Kuoh Academy, I think this matter is best left to the police…"

Sighing, Sona pushed her hair behind her ear before she spoke, "Under normal circumstances, yes, we should leave this matter to the authorities." After a pause, she continued, "But, what if I told you that all six confirmed victims are also Devils?"

"Devils?" Tsubaki blinked. Some students of Kuoh Academy were Devils, and most of them were reincarnated ones. While there were two Devil peerages that belonged to two High-Class Devils, Rias Gremory of the Gremory Clan and Sona Sitri of the Sitri Clan, there were also a few Devils who were enrolled in Kuoh Academy that belonged to some peerages back at the Underworld.

"Yes, Devils. While none of the victims belonged to the Student Council or Rias' little fun-time group, it still doesn't change the fact that someone has been killing Devils in this territory." Sona's expression was grim as she clasped her hands together. "And unlike the exorcists from the Church, the culprit left behind the corpses without even disposing them first. Their corpses were found by civilians at back alleys, and most of them were in a rather… undignified state when they were found."

Tsubaki frowned before she read the papers in her hands. Her eyes widened as she read the papers, which were actually the autopsy reports of the corpses of the victims. There were also a few photos clipped on the papers, depicting the state of the corpses when they were found at the crime scenes, and Tsubaki immediately brought her other hand to her mouth, swallowing the urge to retch.

"This… this is more than just undignified," Tsubaki said, a few moments after calming herself down. "No, undignified isn't enough to describe this. This is beyond deplorable…" There was a hint of anger in her tone as she said that. "The one who did this has to be a monster…"

Sona nodded. "That is something that I can agree with you, Tsubaki." She got up from her seat as she crossed her arms. "Based on the reports, the victims were tortured and… violated before being killed in a gruesome manner. And there were some traces of occult powers being used at the crime scene, indicating that whoever this culprit is, there are some supernatural elements involved. It is safe to assume that whoever did this, they have knowledge regarding the existence of supernatural entities." She went to the window, looking outside. "The culprit might be a stray Devil who seems to have a taste for young, inexperienced female Devils, or a psychopathic magician who hunts down Devils for fun."

"It seems to be a rather difficult task for us to handle," Tsubaki commented.

"Yet we have to do something about this, considering that Rias and her minions are currently engaged in some sort of altercation," Sona said. "I hate to say this, but we, the Student Council, are on our own in this matter. We have to stop this serial killer with everything we got."

Tsubaki stared at the president before she nodded. "Understood, Kaichou. In the meantime, the student body will be informed to be careful while outside the campus."

Sona nodded and said, "Yes, and it is best for them to avoid going to places like backstreets. Most victims were found in back alleys. It's hard to tell if the culprit will only target Devils or not. There's a chance that humans might get involved too, which is something we'd like to avoid at all costs. I want all the members of the Student Council to be informed about this matter…" She pushed her glasses up her nose. "We have a psychotic serial killer to deal with."

"Understood," the vice-president said.

Meanwhile, outside the room of the Student Council, without both Sona and Tsubaki noticing it, a ponytailed girl with bluish-gray hair was standing near the door, and she seemed to have listened to the conversation between them. Thanks to her nature as a battle android, the girl, Labrys, was able to take all the details from the conversation between Sona and Tsubaki perfectly. There was a grim expression on the ponytailed mechanical maiden as she digested the information she received after eavesdropping their conversation.

"A serial killer…" Labrys muttered before she walked away from the Student Council room. She learned from the conversation between the two Devils in the Student Council that someone had been targeting female Devils who were also students of Kuoh Academy. And the culprit might end up targeting humans as well if the culprit wasn't caught.

While she knew she shouldn't get involved, there's no way she could allow suc thing from happening if she could help it. Labrys would like to hear the culprit answer to all the heinous crimes he'd done to all his victims, even though all the victims were Devils. Thanks to her interaction with Issei and the rest of the members from Rias' peerage, she had come to the conclusion that despite them being Devils, they were also like people with their own feelings and emotions.

But first, she needed to inform Mitsuru regarding this. After all, she needed some confirmation and authorization from the leader of the Shadow Operatives first before she could do anything. And because her sister, Aigis, was currently busy with her own business, she decided to not trouble her with this matter for the time being.

As a member of the Shadow Operatives, she believed that she could handle this all by herself. After all, she believed that she's strong, just like her sister.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 19: Riser Phenex**

"I see…" Aigis mused after she listened to Rias' explanation. "You wish for me to join your peerage so that you are not to be married with the person you mentioned…" She looked at Rias, whose expression was unreadable while she was seated on the sofa.

"Riser Phenex…" Rias began. "A High-Class Devil from the House of Phenex." She looked up to see Aigis' face. "You certainly remember what I have told you before, right? About the outcome of the war between all three biblical factions. Due to the war, as well as the civil war between Old and New Devils, we have lost a great number of pure-blooded Devils. And considering that even though there is currently a truce between all factions, I'm sure you remember that occasional scuffles happen, just like the last time," Rias reminded Aigis of the incident which involved the Fallen Angels and Asia Argento that happened before. "It means that the pure-blooded Devils who are the successors of the households can fall in battles anytime, which may lead to the extinction of the households themselves. And the low birth rate among the pure-blooded Devils doesn't help either."

"So… arranged marriages are unavoidable in order to prevent the extinction of the households," Aigis said. "But, what does this have anything to do with me joining your peerage, Gremory-san?"

"I'm getting to it," Rias said. "A while ago, Riser Phenex himself showed up here, in person, telling us about our engagement and the upcoming arranged marriage. I…" She looked aside. "I naturally objected to it. While I do not object to the idea of getting married, I want to be married with someone I acknowledge. I… I want to have the right to choose with whom I am to be married with."

Aigis was starting to get the full picture of Rias' situation. She wanted to be in full control of her own future. She wanted to be given the right to choose with whom she would spend the rest of her life with, and it seemed that she didn't approve of this person, Riser. Still, the redhead had yet to explain to her about the significance of her joining her peerage.

"Due to my objection, Riser has suggested that whether I am to be married with him or not is to be decided through a Rating Game," Rias stated.

Aigis raised one of her eyebrows, not knowing what a Rating Game was. "Rating Game?"

Seeing that the mechanical maiden was unfamiliar with the term, Akeno decided to give an explanation to her. "Let's just say that it's a battle match between Devils, in which the Devils use their servants, Pawns, Bishops, Knights, Rooks and Queen in the match. The social standing of Devils can be reflected by their performance during the game…" The raven-haired beauty held out a finger. "That would mean Buchou's peerage and Riser-sama's peerage will have to battle each other to death, fufufu…" She chuckled creepily.

"Umm… Aigis-san, Akeno-san is just joking," Kiba informed the android girl. "Well, about the last part, that is. The rest is correct. Still, considering that Buchou isn't a fully-matured Devil yet, she technically cannot participate in a Rating Game. But, although this is a matter between two pure-blooded Devils, an unofficial Rating Game between the two of them can still be held."

Aigis mulled over the information she received from their explanation. "So, if Gremory-san emerges victorious in this Rating Game against him, she will not have to marry him. And if she loses, she has no other choice in this matter. I see…" Aigis mused. "I think I understand now. You want me to join your peerage so that you can stand a chance against Riser Phenex."

Rias nodded. "Yes. Riser Phenex has a full peerage and is a mature, pure-blooded Devil. He has already participated in the official game and has won most of the games he participated. And he is also a pure-blooded Devil from the Phenex Clan, one of the remaining 34 Devil Clans of the 72 Pillars, which holds the rank of Marquis. The members of the clan possess the inherent power of the legendary creature itself, Phoenix, which means they are able to regenerate almost any wounds immediately and are almost impossible to defeat in battle. So, in order to stand against someone like Riser, we need more power." She looked at Aigis. "And I believe that you are strong, Aigis-san. I know this is selfish of me to ask for your assistance just so I can escape this predicament, but… what else I can do?"

"You seem to think highly of me, Gremory-san," Aigis said.

"After learning so much about you, I can't help myself," Rias admitted dryly.

Under normal circumstances, Aigis might have accepted Rias' offer to join her peerage, considering the situation she was currently in. But, accepting her offer would mean having herself turn into a Devil, something that she didn't really want to happen. She needed to decide the best course of action to be taken regarding the offer.

**[Do you believe you want to sacrifice your own ideal for someone else's sake? Do you think that turning into something more inhuman is worth it just to help someone?]**

Aigis could hear Boudicca's voice inside her head. The Warrior Queen of Briton was the Persona born from the Imperatrice Arcana, a bond that Aigis made with Rias. That would mean she could see through different perspective thanks to the bond she forged with her, thus gaining an understanding in the bond she created.

**[Becoming a martyr for someone else's sake is admirable. But… will you be happy with the outcome? She may get a positive outcome, but what about you? Do you believe that sacrificing what you stand for is worth it for her sake?]**

Aigis closed her eyes. She understood that as a Wild Card, her power not only could affect her, but also those she interacted with.

**[Sometimes, a little bit of selfishness won't hurt.]**

After hearing Boudicca's advice, Aigis opened her eyes and looked at Rias. "Gremory-san, I can sympathize with your current predicament. I also have a friend who was in the same situation as this, but…" her expression hardened as she continued, "I'm sorry, Gremory-san. I'm afraid that I cannot accept your offer, no matter what the situation is. Becoming a Devil would be going against everything I stood for, and there is no compromise in this matter." Her tone was calm, even though it pained her to see Rias' sad expression upon hearing her declinature.

"I see…" Even with disappointment written on her face, Rias still managed to smile. "I understand, Aigis-san. I guess we can't help it, then."

"Even so, something about this matter has to be done," Aigis stated.

"Eh?" Rias, as well as the rest, blinked as they looked at the mechanical maiden.

"Do you not have enough faith in your servants' abilities, Gremory-san?" Aigis asked. "I believe that all of you can stand against this Riser Phenex." She remembered seeing them for the first time during her mission, when they fought valiantly against the Shadows. One thing that she could say about them was that they were strong together.

"Well…" Rias seemed to be struggling to come up with words but was having trouble while doing so.

"Even though I cannot accept your offer of becoming a Devil, I can still offer my free time to assist you all with training for the match," Aigis said, smiling. "I will not claim that I am stronger than any of you, but I believe I have the power to help you to grow stronger."

"The Personas…" The one who didn't say anything since the beginning, Koneko, spoke. "Just like you did with Issei-senpai."

"Ah…" Kiba understood what Aigis meant. "So, you want to use your Personas to help us train, huh? Well, I guess that's an acceptable alternative." He remembered Issei's training with Pallas Athena, and he had to admit that even though the training might look painful, the outcome of the training couldn't simply be denied.

"I agree," Akeno said, nodding. "How about you, Rias? Considering that Aigis-san won't be joining us anytime soon, if not ever, I cannot think of any better alternative than this."

Rias brought her hand to her chin, closing her eyes as if she was deep in thought before she opened them, looking at the android girl. "Alright. I suppose this is acceptable." She smiled. "Thank you, Aigis-san."

"Please do not mention it, Gremory-san. Because there are things that I cannot compromise, I believe this is the best thing I can offer to you, and I apologize for that," Aigis said, bowing her head slightly.

"I-it's fine, really," Rias insisted. "We can't think of any better option, honestly. So, if you're offering to help us train, that would be great. You have my gratitude," she said before she extended her right hand, offering Aigis a handshake. "I'm looking forward for the training sessions with you."

Smiling, Aigis shook her hand. Deep inside her, she could feel the Imperatrice stirring, radiating comforting warmth from within. She could feel her bond with Rias Gremory growing stronger.

* * *

"Hello, this is Labrys speaking," Labrys said. Using her internal phone, she contacted her superior, the leader of the Shadow Operatives, Mitsuru Kirijo. She was currently in the apartment that she shared with her sister, Aigis.

_"Hello, Labrys,"_ Labrys heard Mitsuru's voice. From her tone, she deduced that the red-haired Persona-user was tired. _"Is there something you wish to report to me?"_

"Umm… you alright, Mitsuru-san?" Labrys asked. "You sound kinda grumpy there."

_"Grumpy, huh? Well… truth be told, I've just finished with my meeting,"_ Mitsuru told the ponytailed mechanical maiden. _"Dealing with those imbeciles can be quite a chore, I'll tell you that. It took almost the entirety of my willpower to refrain from executing all of them in the meeting room."_ After a pause, she added, _"It's just that turning people into ice statues is frowned upon these days, so I had to stay patient and suffer their stupidity for a while."_

Labrys chuckled. "I bet ya got 'em all sweaty from start to finish." She imagined Mitsuru staring down some poor souls while in the meeting room while discussing business.

Mitsuru also chuckled before she said, _"Seeing those old fools drenched in their own sweat and stupidity makes attending the meeting all the more worth it. Still, I don't think that you're contacting me just to learn about my latest escapade as the leader of the Kirijo Group, Labrys. Is there something you wish to report to me?"_

"About that…" Labrys took a while to think of the suitable words to tell her superior. "Yes, I got somethin' to report to ya, Mitsuru-san."

_"Very well. Report,"_ Mitsuru ordered.

Labrys made her report to the leader of the Shadow Operatives, telling her about the serial killer who was at large in the city near Kuoh Academy, and this serial killer was targeting the students of the school. She also told her that the victims were females and Devils.

_"I see…"_ Mitsuru mused. _"So, you are saying that there is a serial killer who is hunting the students of Kuoh Academy, and the victims happened to be females as well as Devils."_

"Yes, and I want to receive an authorization from you so that I can hunt down this serial killer," Labrys said.

_"Labrys… you do realize that whatever happens to the Devils has nothing to do with us?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"I know…" Labrys said. "But… after knowing Issei-kun, Kiba-kun and the others, I… I just thought to myself that maybe, just maybe… they ain't so bad, after all." She closed her eyes as she continued, "They're Devils, that's true, but… after knowing 'em, they're just like us. They're people, just like us. Permission to continue?"

_"Go on…"_

"We are the Shadow Operatives, and we protect people. Didn't you say t' me that we will right the wrong done to all people?" Labrys continued. "Even though they are Devils, they… they are also people. I wanna… fight to protect 'em. I'm sure Sis will think of the same thing too…"

_"I understand…"_ Mitsuru said. _"I know that you cannot stand injustice and wrongdoing, and I commend you on your desire to protect those people. Even so, I still cannot grant you the authorization to commence the mission…"_

"B-but, Mitsuru-sa-"

_"But whatever you do behind my back, that is another matter altogether,"_ Mitsuru's voice softened. _"You are a Shadow Operative, bound by a set of rules. But you are also Labrys, and you are free to decide what rules to give for yourself._" Labrys could tell that Mitsuru was smiling while saying that. _"Just do whatever you think is right. While I cannot approve of your request as the leader of the Shadow Operatives, as a friend, I will always support you."_

"M-Mitsuru-san…" Labrys was honestly touched by Mitsuru's words before she smiled. "Right! Thanks, Mitsuru-san!"

_"And one more thing…"_ Mitsuru said. _"When you see the culprit, make sure to execute him thoroughly. Make me proud, Labrys."_

* * *

"Aigis-san…" Kiba spoke to Aigis as both of them walked down the street. They were on their way home after they were done discussing about their future arrangement for their training for the Rating Game. When Kiba said her name, Aigis stopped walking and glanced over her shoulder, looking at the handsome blond Devil who was walking with her.

"What is it, Kiba-san?" Aigis said.

"About your offer earlier, thanks…" Kiba said, smiling. "Even though you didn't accept Buchou's offer to join her peerage, you're still willing to help us train."

"Please do not mention it," Aigis said softly, turning to face the blond boy, smiling as well. "I just do what I believe is the right thing to do without compromising my own belief. Still, I'm sorry because I had to reject her offer."

Kiba nodded. "It's okay. We understand you. And while I have no objection with my current situation as a Devil, it's not like I had much of choice when Buchou turned me into one." There was a sad smile gracing Kiba's visage, as if recalling the time when he was first turned into a creature of the Underworld by Rias. "I was the same like Asia and Issei, you see? I couldn't remember it very well, but I believed that I might have died before Buchou found and resurrected me as her Knight."

Aigis understood what he meant, and she couldn't exactly blame him for being a Devil due to his situation. Also, besides the change of species, there weren't any real changes in one's personality after being turned into a Devil. Well, Aigis thought that being vulnerable to anything holy was quite disadvantageous. "And you were thankful of her for resurrecting you, right?"

"Yeah, I'm thankful…" Kiba said, nodding. "At the very least, she has given me a second chance in life, even though I have to spend the rest of my life as a demonic being from the Underworld." There was a self-deprecating smile on his face as he continued, "And I am thankful that Christianity isn't all that common in Japan, or else I may end up spending the rest of my day with crippling headaches."

Aigis smiled dryly. "I don't think a Devil can survive a week at Vatican City."

"Heh, probably, that city being a holy place and all. And let's not mention the exorcists…" Kiba said. "Well, let's get going, then. I don't think it's nice to stand in the middle of the street while chatting."

"I suppose you are right, Kiba-san." Aigis nodded. Both of them continued walking.

"Hmm… by the way, Aigis-san, I haven't seen Labrys-san today," Kiba said.

"She's been hanging out with some friends she made at school," Aigis informed the blond boy about her fellow ASW and her sister. "And I think she's already at home while we were discussing about our training arrangement."

"Well, probably it's just me, but I believe that Labrys-san seems more distant than before," Kiba said. He remembered the first time he met the ponytailed mechanical maiden while she was searching for Aigis' apartment. Unlike her sister, Aigis, Labrys was more energetic and outgoing. But after returning from her one-week break, she became more distant. There were some occasions when he saw the ruby-eyed android girl deep in thought. She wasn't as energetic as the first time they met. "And it's probably not my place to ask this, but do you know what happened to her recently?" Kiba couldn't help but worry about that particular mechanical maiden, due to the fact that he befriended her when she first showed up in this city.

"She's… having some sort of personal problem that she hasn't shared with me yet, even though I am her sister," Aigis said. She couldn't help but feel a little saddened because her sister wasn't willing to share her problem with her just yet, but she knew that she simply needed her time before she was ready to tell her everything about the thing that had been troubling her. "As her sister, I am worried."

"As her friend, I'm worried too," Kiba admitted. "If there's anything I can do to help her, will you tell me?"

"I will tell you once I get a good idea about what really happened to Labrys," Aigis said. "And thank you for looking out for my sister. If there is one thing she really needs here, it would be some good friends." Aigis smiled sadly as she recalled the tragedies that happened in Labrys' life, about how much her sister had suffered just because she had grown a human heart. "She had experienced tragedies and heartbreaks before, and I'd like to prevent such things from happening again." She brought her gloved hand to her chest. "I suppose this is a case of sisterly affection. If there is something that I will never deny about our relationship, it is that I love her dearly as a sister."

"Then, you are a good sister, Aigis-san," Kiba said. "And Issei also seems to look up to you because you saved him too."

"I just did what I believed was right at that time," Aigis said. "Issei-san is my friend, and there is no changing that fact. Helping him out is a natural course of action to me. I believe that other people would also do the same thing as well."

"Is that so, huh?" Kiba mused. Then, he realized that they had finally arrived in front of Aigis' apartment, where the blond android lived together with Labrys. "Ah, we're already here."

"Indeed." Aigis nodded. She turned to face him again and gave him a polite bow. "Thank you for accompanying me, Kiba-san."

"Well, this is the least I can do to repay you, after all…" Kiba shrugged. "Again, thank you for the offer you made with Buchou."

"Again, do not mention it." Aigis shook her head.

"I suppose we'll meet again tomorrow…" Kiba said. "I'm looking forward for whatever you're preparing for us tomorrow, Aigis-san. Well, at the very least, I can prepare myself mentally in case if the training you have in mind for us is just like the one your Persona gave to Issei." He recalled the time when Issei was thrown over Athena's shoulder many times and imagined how painful it might be if such a thing were to happen to him, and he had to suppress a shudder while imagining it.

Aigis smiled. "Believe me in which I say that would not be the case. I don't think throwing you over and over again is not the most suitable form of training for you. I believe I need to consult my Personas first in order to figure out a suitable way for you to train," she said. "And this is the least I can do for you. While I don't believe I'm necessarily stronger than any of you, my knowledge has to be enough to help you all train."

"Ah, I guess that's right," Kiba said. "Bye, then. Please take care of yourself in the meantime."

"Understood." Aigis nodded. Kiba waved his hand to Aigis as he left, leaving the mechanical maiden right in front of her apartment that she shared with Labrys.

Once Kiba was gone, Aigis brought her gloved hand to her chest, feeling the warm sensation that she felt while interacting with Kiba. She could feel her bond with the blond boy growing. The Star was stirring deep inside the sea of her soul. Thanks to her being a Wild Card, the bonds that she forged with others could help her to see through various views and perspectives, allowing her to understand others much better. Not only that, the bonds that she made could also make her grow much stronger, because as her bonds with the others strengthened, so did her Personas.

"The power to understand others and understand one's place in the world…" Aigis muttered as she looked on her palm. She was among the few chosen ones who were granted with the power of Wild Card, and while her power as a Wild Card had yet to be fully developed, she had learned how useful this power was in helping her understand herself and her place in the world. "I wonder if he also found out the reason for him living…" She closed her eyes, picturing the face of the one she loved the most, the one who was currently out of her reach.

He had sacrificed his own happiness and future for the sake of the mankind, and it would be proper to honor his sacrifice by living a fulfilled life, as well as protecting humanity just as he did but in her own way. Aigis had vowed to spend the rest of her life doing just that.

"Sis?"

Aigis heard Labrys' voice before she turned around and saw Labrys, whose body was shrouded in her illusion, cloaking her true appearance. She looked like a normal human girl thanks to her capability as an illusionist. "Labrys?" Aigis blinked as she looked at her sister.

Labrys smiled. "Welcome back, Sis."

Aigis noticed that Labrys was wearing her shoes, indicating that she might be going somewhere. "Are you going somewhere?" Aigis asked.

"Yeah." Labrys nodded. "Got somethin' t' do in the city. I'll probably be out until nighttime, so I'm gonna be late tonight."

"I see…" Aigis mused. She figured that Labrys had something to do, probably hanging out with her friends. "Please be safe, then. If you get yourself in trouble, please do not hesitate to call me."

"Right, I'll do just that," Labrys said and walked past her sister.

"And… Sister, if there is something troubling you," Aigis said, and Labrys stopped herself, "I'll listen to you. Just take your time if you do not feel like telling me just yet."

"…Sure," Labrys said as she left.

"Sister…" Aigis just looked at Labrys as the latter left their apartment.

As for Labrys, she left the apartment with determination in her heart. She would not trouble her sister with the knowledge that she would be hunting down a serial killer, because she didn't want her to get worried about her.

After all, she believed that she was strong, just like her sister.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hello, this is me, Prince Arjuna. So, this is Chapter 19 of Heart of a Butterfly. I'm sorry if this took long enough, but I've been thinking hard to come up with ideas for this story. So, please forgive me if there is something unsatisfactory about this story, and you can tell me about them so all those mistakes can be rectified. Also, while this chapter is named after our fabulous fiery douchebag, he has yet to make his appearance in the story. Perhaps next time?

Also, special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. It's so nice to work alongside you. So, please, like usual, leave some reviews for this chapter, so that the author won't suffer existential crisis. Please look forward for the next chapter, **Chapter 20: Crawling Chaos.** Until then, farewell.

**Prince Arjuna (2015)**


	20. Crawling Chaos

"This should be high enough," Labrys muttered as she stood on top of a building. The building was the tallest one among the structures around the area. She was still cloaked in an illusion that covered her robotic parts, so she looked like a normal girl instead of an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. "Initiating summoning procedure."

As she uttered the command, the illusion on her body flickered, dispelling her cover and revealing her robotic parts. And then, her body was engulfed in an azure aura.

"Come forth, Ariadne."

The Persona, Ariadne, appeared behind Labrys. The crimson strings that were used to guide Theseus in the labyrinth could be seen floating around her, creating intricate patterns surrounding her.

The first time she awakened to her Persona, she was unaware of Ariadne's true capabilities. But, after running several tests, she discovered that she was able to perform analyses on her enemies and map an entire city block with her Persona. While it wasn't as powerful as Fuuka's or Rise's, mapping a large area was valuable for reconnaissance missions. Actually, it made sense, considering that in her legend, Ariadne guided the hero Theseus through the labyrinth, providing the basis of the ability for Labrys' Persona.

Due to her mapping power being considerably weaker compared to the two aforementioned Persona-users who could use their powers to outline an entire city by just thinking, she needed to perform the method from a high place, like at the top of a tall building. That way, there would be no visual obstructions that would prevent her from seeing the city block. And after scrutinizing the area, she would make a map out of it and create a copy of it inside her database.

Earlier, she identified the places where the murders occurred. As expected, those places were barricaded by police tapes, because the dead bodies of the victims were found there. And those corpses were not disposed, causing them to be discovered by civilians. By locating all the crime scenes, seeing that all of them were located rather closely to each other, she would be able to deduce the culprit's movement. Then she would map the city block where the murders occurred to help her find the culprit much easier. In case the culprit broke the pattern, she still had another plan, which was Plan B.

After mapping the city block, making a map of it inside her database, Labrys would move on to the next stage. In order to trap the culprit, she would make use of her ability to conjure illusions. While she mostly used her illusions to conceal her robotic parts, she could theoretically make false images on the entirety of a city block. The purpose of the illusions was to make sure that no civilians would be involved, in case if she encountered the culprit. It was also to make sure the culprit wouldn't be able to get away due to the illusions trapping him.

In hindsight, she was thankful of encountering her own Shadow, besides having an understanding about what she truly wanted, but also about how to use the underutilized ability of conjuring illusions to its limit. Without seeing Shadow Labrys using her illusory power, she wouldn't be able to understand how the power could work.

After she was done mapping the area, she dismissed her Persona and left the building, but not before donning her illusory disguise. It was almost nighttime, and based on her research, it was estimated that most of those cases occurred around this time. If everything went according to her plan, she would be able to catch the culprit red-handed, and she would punish the evildoer for all the crimes he had committed. She was sure that Mitsuru would be proud if she managed to do that.

Still, she needed to be careful. Considering that all the victims so far were Devils, then the culprit had to be strong enough to defeat them before killing them. While she was confident in her ability as a Persona-user and an ASW, being extra cautious wouldn't hurt. Using the map that she had created earlier, she walked down the area to cover most of its parts with illusions. The illusions would serve as some sort of barriers to keep civilians away, as well as to trap the culprit in case if she managed to locate him.

As she marked another part of the area with an illusion, she suddenly heard a scream which was not too far from where she was standing. "Now?!" Labrys wasn't sure whether she was lucky or unlucky to suddenly get a lead on the culprit, but now that the opportunity to apprehend the serial killer while he was in the act had appeared, she wouldn't let such an opportunity slip away from her fingers. She dashed down the back alley, rushing over to where the scream came from.

When she took a turn around the corner, she saw the source of the scream, which was a girl clad in a school uniform, which was the same like hers. The girl was clutching her shoulder, which seemed to be injured. The girl was startled when she saw Labrys suddenly show up in front of her and showed a terrified expression on her face as Labrys approached her.

"P-please don't hurt me!" The girl cried.

Calmly, Labrys spoke, "No need to worry. I ain't here to hurt you or anythin' like that. I'm askin' you, though…" She slowly stepped forward, approaching the terrified girl. "Are you a Devil?"

The girl seemed surprised as she gave Labrys a wary look.

"In case if you're wonderin', I ain't an exorcist or stuff like that. Do I look like an exorcist to ya?" Labrys asked. The girl responded to her question by shaking her head. "Good. So, are you a Devil?" She repeated her question. Slowly and hesitantly, the girl nodded.

So, this girl was targeted by the serial killer due to her being a Devil. And judging from the time interval between the time when Labrys heard her scream and the time when she found her was short, the culprit should be somewhere nearby.

"Alright, so did ya see who's attackin' you?" Labrys asked.

"Umm… I didn't see him too well, since it happened too fast," the girl said. "The moment I realized I was attacked, he got away." Then, she sniffled. "I-it hurts…"

"Let's get that wound checked out first," Labrys offered. "Still, the serial killer's still prowlin' around the area. This place ain't safe to stay around…" She looked at the injured girl, giving her a gentle smile. "Stick close t'me, missy. I'm goin' to get you outta here…" She turned around to lead the girl out of the alley to a safer place.

"T-thanks…" The girl said. "…You're a nice person."

Due to Labrys' back facing the girl, the mechanical maiden didn't see a twisted, face-splitting smile on the girl's face as the girl conjured a black blade out of thin air.

"Too nice, in fact. It almost makes me feel bad having to kill you. Almost, mind you."

And at that moment, Labrys' instincts told her that she was in grave danger. She spun around and saw the girl trying to stab her with that black blade in her hand. Quickly, she deflected the attack and pushed the girl away before she jumped back, widening the distance between both of them.

"Aww, too bad, then. Oh well, killin' you outright would be boring…" The girl said as she steadied herself after being pushed away by Labrys. Her voice didn't sound like a girl's anymore. The voice that came out of her voice was the voice of a man, albeit a high-pitched and annoying one. She twirled the black blade in her hand before she conjured more of them, holding them between her knuckles. "Where's the fun in that if ya got killed from that attack?"

"You're the killer," Labrys said. It wasn't a question. It was clear as day that the 'girl' before her was the one who did all the killings. She immediately dispelled the illusion that covered her body, revealing her robotic parts. "I'm gonna punish you for all the things you've done." She brandished her great axe as the weapon let out steamy hiss.

The 'girl' quirked her eyebrow and spoke, "Another robot girl? Wow, today's my lucky day!" She turned around with a twirl, as if trying to conceal the black tendrils that emerged from her body. Labrys could see that she was morphing into a new shape. When she stopped twirling, she had a rather hideous, malformed look. A large chunk of her face seemed to be melting from her cheek, and she tried to stop the melting by pushing the flesh back into her cheek. "Wait a moment, I'm gonna fix my face a bi-" Before she could finish her sentence, Labrys rammed her torso with her axe, slamming her against the wall.

As the dust from the impact settled, Labrys realized that the girl's body had melted. She pulled back her axe and looked at what remained of the girl warily.

"Now that's just plain rude, innit?" The annoying, high-pitched voice that came from the melting girl before spoke. Labrys looked behind and saw a white-haired young man, garbed in a clerical uniform, resting against the wall. "Hmm… somehow, you created a barrier or shit like that 'round this place, huh? That's kinda new."

"Tch," clicking her tongue, Labrys brandished her axe. "You ain't gettin' away, murderer! You're gonna pay for what you have done!"

The young man sneered. "What do you think you are, a superheroine or somethin'? And callin' me a murderer ain't nice, y'know? At least, call me by my name, 'kay? Name's Freed Sellzen. Welp, tough luck t'find 'nother robot girl here, but why don't we play a game?" The young man, Freed, suggested. "Since you created the barrier around this place, why don't we play hide-and-seek? Find me if you can~!"

And Freed disappeared in a flash. Feeling annoyed, Labrys put her axe on her back before she started using her map to navigate through the labyrinth that she made using her illusions.

All her brilliant planning seemed to be undone by that madman, which irked her to no end.

"Now I'm angry…" Labrys muttered as she ran down the alley in order to find Freed.

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 20: Crawling Chaos**

"Hey, don't you think it's a little weird here?"

"Hmm? Weird? Why's that?"

"Well… maybe it's just me, but don't you think we've seen the same garbage bin three times already?"

"Hmm… now that you mention it, it does feel like we're walking in circles. Don't you think so, Kaichou?"

Sona Sitri and a few members of her peerage were patrolling the backstreets in order to investigate the areas where the murders happened. They were patrolling the areas in two groups: one group was led by her and the other led by the vice-president of the student council, Tsubaki Shinra. At first, they considered patrolling the areas by splitting into smaller groups which consisted of two members, but considering that there might be a deranged murderer and rapist on the prowl, they were moving in large groups instead for their own safety.

The High Class Devil knew that the opponent wasn't someone they should face without proper planning. So, she had prepared a plan beforehand, as well as a second plan in case the first one couldn't work.

And now, they were trapped in some kind of illusory maze, presumably created by the culprit himself. She mentally chastised herself for her oversight. She should have expected their target to be able to use illusions to confuse his victims and his pursuers.

"Hope the others will be alright…" A girl with white, wavy hair, the Bishop of Sona's peerage, Momo Hanakai, said. From the look of her face, it seemed that she was worried about the group led by Tsubaki. If the entire area was covered in illusions, then they might be affected by the illusions as well. "Kaichou, what should we do now?" She asked Sona.

Sona looked at Momo, before she turned to look at the rest. Besides Momo, the ones who were with her were Ruruko Nimura and Genshirou Saji. Ruruko was a petite girl whose brown hair was tied into long twin-tails and she seemed to be wearing a pair of thigh-high stockings which were bright green in color. The other one, Saji, was a boy with slightly messy blond hair. He was also the only male member of the Student Council.

"Let's be careful…" Sona finally decided. "We still don't know the full extent of our target's power, and it looks like we are trapped in the illusions that seemed to be conjured by the target himself. Be prepared." The High-Class Devil adjusted her glasses. "If the illusions cover the entire block, then he should be nearby."

The three members of the Student Council gulped.

Then, Sona smiled slightly and spoke to the only male student in their group, "And I'll be counting on you to protect the others, Saji."

Seeing Sona's smile was enough to make the newest addition of her group blush slightly before he brought his fist to his chest, thumping it confidently. "Y-you can count on me, Kaichou! I-I'll protect Momo-san and Ruruko-san with everything I got!"

Hearing Saji's proclamation, both Ruruko and Momo couldn't help but blush. Momo twiddled her forefingers as she looked away shyly. It was clear as day that the white-haired girl was harboring a huge crush on the boy. The same could be said about Ruruko as well, as she rubbed her arm bashfully as she looked away in embarrassment.

Sona nodded. "Thank you. Please make me proud," she told Saji. "Now, let's continue. Watch each other's backs."

"Understood!" Momo said before she glanced at Saji. "Will be counting on you, Gen-chan."

"Alright!" Ruruko said in energetic tone.

"You got it, Kaichou!" Saji said.

As the four of them continued walking down the alley, Momo suddenly said, "Wait." She perked her head, and from the serious look on her face, it seemed like she had detected something.

"What's wrong, Senpai?" Ruruko asked.

"I heard noises…" The white-haired reincarnated Devil said.

"Noises?" Saji frowned. "W-wait, I heard them too!"

All four of them were able to hear the noises. The noises got louder by each passing second. Sona furrowed her brow, recognizing the noises as something that came from a battle.

There was a fight going on, Sona thought to herself.

And then, they saw the body of a girl being flung from a corner, crashing into some garbage bins. Sona immediately made a signal to those who were with her to stop. Seeing the signal, Momo, Ruruko and Saji immediately prepared themselves. Saji clenched his left fist as some sort of armlet appeared on his left arm. Shaped like a chameleon, the gems on the armlet released some sort of purple light as soon as it appeared.

Slowly, the girl who crashed into the garbage bins picked herself up, grunting a bit before she picked up the giant axe that she dropped earlier after crashing. Sona's eyes widened as she recognized the girl.

"You're-" Sona was unable to finish her words as black arrows rained onto them.

"Tsk! Weaver's Art: Shield!" The girl shouted before a mechanical-looking woman appeared before the group. She swayed her hands, conjuring red strings that were instantly weaved into the shape of a barrier, blocking the arrows.

"Aww, c'mon now!" Then, a voice said. "Now ya can make shields?! That's pretty unfair, innit?" The grating voice whined before a white-haired young man, clad in a priest's coat, stepped out of the corner. In his left hand was a glowing exorcist's sword while in his right was a black sword.

"An exorcist?" Sona muttered. "The one responsible for all those murders was an exorcist?"

Hearing what Sona said, the young man scrunched up his face. "Gee, what gave you that idea?" He said.

"Yeah, he's the one responsible for all the murders…" The girl from earlier said. Judging from the doll-like joints on her limbs, it's safe to say that she wasn't a human. "You huntin' for him too, Kaichou?"

"Indeed…" Sona nodded as she pushed her glasses up. "If I'm not mistaken, you are Labrys Kirijo, and you are a robot, from what Rias had told us…"

The robot girl, Labrys, shrugged. "An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, or ASW, to be exact. But that's not the point right now…" She brandished her giant axe. "We got a psycho to deal with here. I believe you wanna beat him up or something, no?"

"That's the idea so far, yes…" Sona responded coolly. "Now… what's your name?" She addressed the psychotic-looking exorcist. "I believe an exorcist won't leave behind the corpses of the Devils he slew without disposing them first, so I believe that you might be an excommunicated one, or just acting like an exorcist as a cover…" Then, her violet eyes glinted dangerously as the area they were currently in was filled with demonic aura. "Either way, prepare yourself. I, Sona Sitri, shall end you, once and for all…"

The members of her peerage, Saji, Momo and Ruruko, were shaken a bit by the pressure caused by the demonic aura exerted by their King. It was their first time seeing her being this serious.

Meanwhile, the white-haired young man raised one of his eyebrows as he looked at Sona before he whistled. "Wow, that's pretty scary! Oh well, name's Freed Sellzen. Call me Freed." He started counting the people there, including Labrys. "One, two, three, four, five… hmm." His lips curled up into a mad grin. "Wowie, today's my lucky day!" The debauched look on his face was very unmistakable, causing the girls to flinch in repulsion.

"Now you've done it…" Saji growled before he stood in front of both Momo and Ruruko, who were repulsed by Freed's presence. "You're gonna pay for what you've done, you bastard!"

Now that Labrys was standing beside them, Sona turned to her. "This is unexpected, but will you lend your strength for a while?" She asked.

"Ya don't need to ask, Kaichou!" Labrys replied, steam coming out of her joints and giant axe.

Seeing that the ASW and the group of Devils had teamed up, Freed grinned amusedly. "Man, it's gettin' more and more unfair! Oh well, can't really complain. You want to kill me?" He asked, his tone turned dangerously low. "Come and get me."

* * *

Aigis was in her apartment. She had removed her uniform and folded it neatly before putting it on the table. Clad only in her armored bodice, the mechanical maiden sat at the corner, hugging her knees.

"Labrys…" Aigis muttered softly. "What's happening to you? Why didn't you share your burden with me? You're my sister…"

She was saddened and disappointed that her sister, Labrys, wasn't willing to share her problems with her, despite them being sisters. While she understood that she might simply need some time before she could tell her everything about her problems, she couldn't help but feel like she had been abandoned by the one she loved.

When she realized that she had yet to let go of her abandonment issue, Aigis let out a mirthless chuckle. When she thought that she had changed, there were still some aspects within her that remained the same. She couldn't bear to lose those she loved. When Labrys stopped relying on her, it felt like there was a giant rift forming between them. It felt like she had abandoned her.

She hated herself for thinking such a thing. She knew that Labrys had her own reasons to not share her burdens. Like what Yukari had told her before, she needed some time before she could be comfortable sharing her problems with her.

As Aigis remained seated at the corner, there was a blue butterfly fluttering about. Curiously, it left glowing dust trails as it flew. Noticing the unusual insect, Aigis looked at it as approached her before it perched on top of her head.

"Hello, butterfly-san…" Aigis greeted the butterfly. While she was unable to see the butterfly which was currently perched on her headband, she could feel that it was there. For some reason, with the unusual insect perched on top of her head, she felt a lot calmer than before. There was this feeling that she couldn't properly describe when she saw the butterfly showing up.

Now that she thought about it, the windows and the door were closed. How could the butterfly enter her apartment in the first place? While there might be some tiny holes somewhere, it's not like the butterfly could squeeze through them.

Still, she didn't let such a trivial matter to bother her. The butterfly had such a calming presence. With it perching on her headband, she no longer felt troubled.

Soon after that, her system went to 'sleep mode'. While she was asleep, she dreamed of butterflies.

When she woke up, the butterfly was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Back at the town, Sona and three members of her peerage, plus Labrys, were engaged in a battle with Freed Sellzen. While it might seem unfair to have five people battling one opponent at the same time, Sona didn't want to take any chances. She needed to take him down with all she got. And she hoped that Tsubaki and the rest would get the message that she sent earlier so that they could come as reinforcements, provided that they weren't lost in the illusory maze.

The vanguards who were battling Freed head on were Labrys and Saji, with the android girl taking a proactive role. Momo and Ruruko were assisting them as Sona coordinated them in attacking their target while using her water manipulation at the same time.

"Stay still, you bastard!" Saji shouted, using the line from his Absorption Line to ensnare Freed. But the deranged exorcist just nimbly dodged it before he unleashed more black arrows that somehow came out of nowhere. All of them were directed towards Saji. As soon as he released the arrows, he narrowly dodged a jet of water that was launched by Sona.

Luckily, before they could even reach Saji, Ruruko stood in front of him, deflecting the arrows with her bare hands. But she was unable to stop one of them to pierce her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. Her knuckles were bruised after using them to deflect the arrows earlier. Grunting, Ruruko pulled the black arrow, throwing it aside.

"Ruruko-chan!" Momo went to the girl with twin-tails, worried. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine…" Clutching on her wounded shoulder, Ruruko replied. She grimaced as she noticed that her shoulder didn't stop bleeding. "W-wha?"

Dusting off his coat, Freed grinned. "Ya should think twice before using your body to shield your friend, girly…" He said. "Those arrows ain't no ordinary arrows, y'see?"

Struck by a realization, Sona looked at the black arrows on the floor. All of them seemed to be releasing some sort of black smoke. Grimacing, she looked back at Freed and spoke, "Those arrows are poisonous, are they not? Or cursed…" She had heard of the weapons that could inflict wounds that could not be healed. Could it be that those arrows could do such a thing?

"Ding, ding! You are correct!" Freed announced grandly. "Next time, try to not use your own body to protect your teammates! But, well…" There was a face-splitting grin on the excommunicated exorcist's face. "There won't be next time, because you'll die here!"

With inhuman speed, Freed dashed towards the group, seemingly aiming for the injured Ruruko. But before he could reach her, Labrys stood in his way, swinging her giant axe onto him. When the attacked managed to hit him, he was sent flying by the sheer force of the hit, sending him crashing into a wall.

"You're gonna regret hurting 'em, trash…" Labrys growled. Her red eyes were glowing eerily. Then, using her rocket propellers, she dashed towards the downed Freed, ramming his body against the wall with her own. She had already dropped her giant axe in favor of her fists, which were obviously made of steel.

As she repeatedly punched Freed's face, suddenly she stopped as something pierced through her stomach. When she looked down, she saw Freed's sword being pierced through her stomach, which protruded out of her back. Now that her attention was diverted, Freed grabbed her face with his hand.

"That hurts, y'know?" Freed said before he slammed Labrys' head repeatedly on the wall before flinging her away towards a pile of rubbish. "Stay there. I'll deal with you later…" He dusted off his coat as he calmly approached the others. Despite the brutal beatdown that Labrys delivered earlier, he showed no sign of injuries. It seemed like he was never hurt in the first place. "Now, what should I do to you guys?"

Sona glared at the white-haired excommunicated exorcist, whose grin grew wider as he looked at the injured Ruruko who was still clutching on her still bleeding shoulder. Both Saji and Momo stood protectively in front of the younger girl, glaring at Freed as they did so.

"Well, no matter…" Freed shrugged. "Maybe I should end this once and for all…"

Somehow, Freed stopped grinning as he closed his eyes. For some reasons, the surroundings became colder and the atmosphere became heavier. He threw his exorcist sword onto the ground as his black sword in his other hand was dismissed.

"Maybe I should show you… the downside of turning a human into one of your kind, Devil…"

Realizing what the deranged exorcist meant, Sona immediately shouted to her subordinates, "You three, run!" But she was too late as the area was filled with suspicious-looking fog. As for Freed, he opened his eyes.

Disconcertedly, instead of red, those eyes of his were glowing yellow in color.

The first who was affected by the fog was Ruruko. "Ngh… argh…" She clutched on her wounded shoulder. "N-no… K-Kaichou, h-help me…"

"R-Ruruko-chan…" Like Ruruko, Momo was also affected. It felt like the fog was physically harming her. With unfocused eyes, she looked at Saji, who seemed to be in pain as well. "G-Gen-chan… n-no…"

"Gah… d-dammit…" Saji's face contorted in pain as he pressed his hands on the sides of his head. "K-Kaichou…"

Seeing the members of her peerage in such a state, the usually calm and stoic Sona Sitri was agitated. She looked at Freed and shouted, "What have you done to them?!"

Now that a grin returned on Freed's face, he shrugged and spoke, "Oh, nothing…" His yellow eyes returned back to red. "I just showed 'em how contradictory their nature is. And, oh, don't feel bad or anything. I ain't blamin' you for turning 'em into Devils or something like that. I'm just showin' you that while they might be Devils, deep inside, they are still humans…" His grin widened.

"What do you mean?" Sona asked warily.

"Eventually, you'll understand…" Freed said before something emerged from behind his back. "Now then, it's time to kill you all."

Bracing herself, Sona prepared her magic. With the members of her peerage being unable to fight, and Labrys being put out of commission, she was on her own against this psychotic exorcist. She had no choice but to go all out.

But, before she could do anything, she heard a monstrous roar before Freed's arms were suddenly wrapped in chains.

**"Hah…"** She heard Labrys' voice. **"What a pain, what a pain…"** She saw Labrys approaching them, walking in steady pace. In her hand was her giant axe. Somehow, her body was emitting an ominous aura. **"If I were a human, that would've hurt a lot, you know?"**

There was a slight reverb in the android girl's voice. Then, Sona noticed that Labrys was grinning madly, a far cry from the taciturn-looking android girl earlier. And disturbingly, her eyes were no longer red in color.

They were golden and glowing.

"Y-you!" Freed's eyes widened in surprise. For the first time, he tensed.

**"Me?"** Labrys tilted her head in an innocent manner. Such a gesture might seem innocent and endearing, if it weren't for that face-splitting grin on her visage. **"Why so serious, Father Sellzen? Are you afraid of my eyes? Or… are you afraid of… this?" **The ominous aura surrounding became stronger before she bellowed, **"Persona, Asterius!"**

The same monstrous roar resounded in the back alley before a giant, horned figure emerged from the ground behind Labrys. Wreathed in black fire, the monster let its presence known by letting out another roar. And at that moment, the back alley turned into something else; a dark, shadowy dungeon, fitting for such a monster to reside in.

"N-no way…" Sona stared at the monstrous creature in amazement. "I-it's… Minotaur…"

As the surroundings reverted back to normal, the creature sunk back into the ground once again, but the ominous aura surrounding the android girl remained.

"This is unexpected…" Freed said. "Alright, you win this time, robot girl. I-" Before he could finish his words, a giant fist emerged from the air, squashing him flat.

**"Sorry, you were saying stuff?"** Labrys asked innocently.

_"That's rude, you know? At least let me finish first…"_ A disembodied voice complained. _"I didn't expect someone like you to appear here. An anomaly, yes…"_ Despite that Freed was no longer there, his voice still could be heard. The one that Labrys had flattened earlier had vanished into thin air. _"I suppose I need to change my plan… you said your name is Labrys, no?"_

**"Yes, I am Labrys… and I shall kill you once I find you…"** Labrys said calmly despite the ominous aura she was emitting.

_"I'll remember that…"_ And then, he said no more, indicating that he had probably left.

The fog that had been affecting the reincarnated Devils was gone. Still, they were left exhausted by the experience. Momo was comforting the traumatized Ruruko, who got it worse among them. Luckily for her, the wound on her shoulder had stopped bleeding. As for Saji, he was slumped on the wall, seemingly worn out by the ordeal.

After making sure that her subordinates were alright, Sona went to Labrys' side. But, considering that the android girl was still emitting the ominous aura, she approached her carefully and warily.

**"Heh… this is boring…"** Labrys grumbled before she closed her eyes. **"Here, take it back. There's no one to kill here…"** Gradually, the aura dissipated, and when she reopened her eyes, they reverted back to red.

"Labrys-san?" Sona spoke to her. "Is everything alright?" She asked.

Now that she had returned back to normal, Labrys smiled sheepishly. "Umm, 'm fine…" She answered. "Still, are they alright?" She pointed at the two girls and one boy who were with Sona.

"They will be fine…" Sona said. "Still, thank you for assisting us today, even though we failed to take the target down."

"Please don't mention it, Kaichou…" Labrys said. "I'm doin' things that I feel right, is all. At the very least, no one's terribly hurt today…"

"Indeed…" Sona nodded. "Still, we better leave this place. I assume that Tsubaki has left some barriers around the area so that no people may enter this place. Let's go to the school, so we can discuss more about what had happened today in length…"

"Alright, you got it," Labrys replied, nodding.

"And, we might as well discuss about what to do next..." Sona added. "You are fine with that?"

"Sounds good to me," Labrys said.

Soon after that, the rest of the Student Council showed up. After making sure that everyone was safe, they left the area. Apparently, Tsubaki had set up multiple barriers around the block to make sure that no one would wander around the area.

As for Sona, she was honestly quite impressed by what she had seen earlier. Just like what Rias had told her, Labrys was truly quite an exceptional one. If things went right, she might be able to get an additional member of her peerage.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Finally, the update is here! So, here we are, Chapter 20 of Heart of a Butterfly, titled Crawling Chaos. Well, hope you guys like this chapter, and sorry for the long wait. And now I'm done with college, I can finally focus on writing fics and stuff, so expect more updates in the future. Woohoo!

Special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter, like usual. Good to work with you, as always.

So, please leave some comments about this chapter. They are necessary so that the author won't lose his appetite while eating his lunch so that he can write more chapters. Please stay tuned for the next chapter, **Chapter 21: Raging Bull.** Until then, farewell.

Prince Arjuna (2015)


	21. Raging Bull

"Labrys-san, can you drink?" Tsubaki, the Vice-President of Kuoh Academy's Student Council, asked the ponytailed girl who was sitting on the sofa. They were currently in the Student Council Room. The long-haired girl was about to pour the other girl a cup of tea when she gave her that question.

"Hmm? Well… I can safely drink water, so if you're worried 'bout me damaging my insides while drinking, don't be," Labrys said, smiling at Tsubaki.

"I see…" Tsubaki mused. "Here you go, then." She poured the mechanical maiden a cup of tea. "It's one of the finest blends in the Underworld, but it'll be a shame if you can't actually taste it."

"Actually, I can't taste stuff the same way as ya, but let's just say I can feel the texture and stuff whenever I eat or drink somethin'," Labrys informed. "Got the new program installed in me which lets me experience 'tastes', though it ain't the same like tasting foods with a real tongue," she said. "Sorry 'bout that, Tsubaki-san." She offered the long-haired bespectacled girl an apologetic smile.

"That's fine. Don't worry about it, Labrys-san. Even so, I find you to be very amazing," Tsubaki said, putting the cup of tea in front of Labrys. "I can't believe that a robot like you can be so lifelike."

"An Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, to be exact," Labrys corrected. "We were built in order to combat Shadows and protect mankind."

"Shadows, huh? I think Kaichou did mention it to me once or twice," Tsubaki mused. "Still a bit strange, since even though I am a Devil, I've never encountered such creatures before."

"Actually, Shadows don't exist in the real world. They're in someplace called the 'collective unconscious', a place that connects all people's minds and unconscious thoughts," Labrys informed. "Though under certain circumstances, they can appear in the real world, though it's kinda rare to actually see one in daylight," she added.

"Hmm… fascinating," Tsubaki seemed curious and interested. "Both Kaichou and I did a few researches regarding you and your sister, Aigis-san, and we did stumble upon several things like Shadows and Personas."

The ponytailed mechanical maiden furrowed her brow. "Why did ya research me and my sis?"

"Ah, that's actually the thing that we are about to discuss with you shortly after this, Labrys-san," Tsubaki told her. "Kaichou will be here soon. It seems that the three of our members are in such a worrying state that Kaichou has to attend to them for a while." The bespectacled girl scowled. "It seemed that whatever that Freed Sellzen had done to them, it is not something to be treated lightly…"

"Freed Sellzen…" Labrys spat out that name in repugnance, recalling the thing that the excommunicated exorcist had done to many others. "Next time, I'll get him, and I'm gonna make him pay for what he did." She clenched her fists. "I swear I'm gonna catch him next time." Her ruby eyes were burning with anger, and such a thing did not go unnoticed by the Vice-President.

"Please don't worry, Labrys-san. We, as the members of the Student Council will make sure that there will be no future victims of that depraved monster," Tsubaki said. "We wish for the same thing as well, Labrys-san, though it is prudent to practice caution…"

"…Yeah, you're right," Labrys lowered her head. "I'm sorry I kinda lost it for a bit there. Still…" She looked at Tsubaki with concerned eyes. "Are those three okay?"

"Ah, are you perhaps referring to Genshirou Saji, Momo Hanakai and Ruruko Nimura? Saji and Hanakai are currently stable though a bit tired after that ordeal, but Nimura is having a bad fever. It seems that the arrow that pierced through her shoulder was cursed, and we need to bring her to the hospital in the Underworld in order to cure her," Tsubaki told Labrys about what happened to the three members of the Student Council that were affected by whatever Freed had unleashed back then. "She's expected to recover as soon as possible, so please don't worry about her."

"I see…" Labrys mused. "Thank goodness…" She sighed in relief.

Then, the door was opened, and Sona Sitri stepped into the room. She looked a little exhausted, but she regarded Labrys' presence in the room with a tip of her head and a small smile.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Labrys-san," the President of the Student Council began as she took her seat on a sofa opposite to the one Labrys was sitting on. "I needed to arrange for Nimura's transfer into the hospital in the Underworld, and it took longer than I had anticipated," she said to Labrys apologetically.

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it, Kaichou," Labrys waved her off. "It's your job, after all."

Sona smiled before she clasped her hands together as she put them on her lap. "Let us go straight to business, then. I believe we have the same objective, Labrys-san."

Labrys nodded. "Yeah. Freed Sellzen needs to be taken down as soon as possible."

"Indeed," Sona agreed. "And we need all the help we can get, and considering that Rias is currently busy with her upcoming unofficial Rating Game, she is in no shape to provide assistance to us," she sighed. "By having you with us, I believe we can manage this. So, I'd like to give you an offer, Labrys-san."

"An offer?" Labrys raised one eyebrow.

Sona nodded. "Yes, an offer to join the Student Council, and by extension, an invitation of sort." She waved her left hand, and a few chess pieces appeared on the table in front of them. The chess pieces were a Rook, a Knight and three Pawns. Labrys recognized the pieces as Evil Pieces, the artifacts that could reincarnate someone into a Devil.

The High-Class Devil held out her hand to Labrys.

"Will you join my peerage?"

* * *

**Heart of a Butterfly**

**Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover**

**Chapter 21: Raging Bull**

"Join your peerage?" Labrys frowned as she focused on the Evil Pieces arranged on the table before her. "Ya mean become a Devil like your whole gang and stuff like that?" She asked.

Sona nodded. "Yes." The President of the Student Council adjusted her glasses. "There were no previous instances of a robot, or in your case, an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, to be reincarnated into a Devil, but there were instances where artificial lifeforms such as a golem were able to become a Devil and be a part of a peerage." She studied Labrys' face as she continued, "Labrys-san, I believe that my Vice-President, or rather, my Queen, had informed you of the fact that I researched about you and your sister, and let's just say that I am very impressed by you, and I am interested to have you as a member of my peerage."

Carefully, Labrys worded her response, "Kaichou, I kinda appreciate it that you agreed to have me on board to catch this Freed guy, but did ya just say you've been monitoring me and my sis?"

Sona pushed her glasses up and said, "In a way, yes…" She admitted. "And for that, we sincerely apologize for the breach of privacy. But, after learning of the existence of the creatures such as Shadows, we can't help but be prepared."

Labrys mulled over it for a while before she spoke, "I dunno how to feel 'bout this, Kaichou, but I kinda understand the reasoning behind it." After learning of things like Shadows and Personas, gaining knowledge about them is the wisest choice one can make.

After all, knowledge is power.

"So, about my offer…" Sona said. "Will you accept? Or do you want some time to think about it?"

"I dunno…" Labrys admitted. "I mean… it ain't something I can decide on my own." Her red eyes focused on the bespectacled Devil in front of her. "And considering that ya did a bit of researches 'bout me and my sis, I bet you've been thinkin' a lot 'bout this, right?"

Slowly, Sona nodded. "Yes, you are correct," she admitted. "Asking you to join my peerage may bring unforeseen consequences." She had learned about the existence of Shadow Operatives, even though the ASWs themselves did not confirm nor deny their allegiance to the aforementioned organization. Complications might arise if Labrys were to join her peerage.

"And ya still gave me the offer even after knowing the risks?" Labrys asked.

"They are risks I'm willing to take…" Sona replied. "Still, I understand if you have some reservation about joining my peerage, but why don't you give it some thought?"

"I-I see… I'm gonna think 'bout it, then," Labrys said.

Sona smiled. "Thank you. And… I won't resent you if you don't accept my offer, Labrys-san…"

"That's good to know, Kaichou. Thanks," Labrys smiled at Sona who smiled back at her. "So, what should we do 'bout Freed?" She asked.

"All we can do now is to wait and see…" Sona sighed. "It's regrettable, but now that he knows that we are actively hunting him, he'll be more cautious in regards to his activities. From what we can gather, while that monster may be insane, he's not a fool."

"Yeah, I get ya, Kaichou…" Labrys nodded, her expression seemed grim.

"I'll inform you once we find any leads on his whereabouts, Labrys-san," Sona said. "I assure you that we won't leave you out of this regardless of your decision regarding my offer. All things considered, I find this particular trait of yours admirable." Then, she clarified, "About your desire to stop him, I mean…"

Labrys blushed a little after hearing that. "Aw shucks… it ain't no big deal, Kaichou. I mean, it's just the right thing to do, isn't it? There's no way stopping someone like him can be a bad thing, right?"

Sona smiled after looking at Labrys' bashful look upon being praised like that. "I suppose you are right, Labrys-san."

Soon after that, both Labrys and the Student Council parted ways on good terms. They would continue their collaboration in hunting down Freed Sellzen in order to stop his madness. Still, as Labrys headed back to her apartment, she mulled over the offer that the Student Council President had given her earlier about joining her peerage.

If she were her sister, she would decline the offer. But she was not her sister.

"Turning into a Devil, huh?" Labrys muttered as she looked on her illusion-covered palm. Even though it was cloaked under her illusion, her body was still made of metal bits and wires instead of flesh and blood. It was the truth that she had accepted long ago. Labrys, the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, was never a human to begin with.

In case if someone like her could be converted into a Devil, there was nothing for her to lose.

But, why did she hesitate?

"Labrys-san?"

Labrys heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned around and saw the handsome face of Yuuto Kiba. He seemed to be holding a plastic bag.

"Kiba-kun?" Labrys said. She looked at the plastic bag he's holding. "What's that ya got with ya?"

"Well, I was on my way back from the convenience store, see?" Kiba said, holding up the plastic bag which contained some foods. "How about you?" He asked.

"I was just on my way back from school," Labrys informed the boy.

Kiba raised one eyebrow. "School? What are you doing there? It's already 10," he said, pointing out that it's already late at night.

"Stuff happened, and I ended up talking with Kaichou for a while," Labrys said before she sighed. Kiba curiously looked at the mechanical maiden as he walked alongside her. As they walked down the street, Labrys told the boy about what happened. She also told him about the offer the Student Council President had given her earlier.

"Ah, so… Kaichou offered you a place in her peerage? Did you decline her?" Kiba asked. Rias had already given Aigis a similar offer, an offer that she declined.

"Haven't decided yet…" Labrys said. "I dunno what to think 'bout it, Kiba-kun."

"So, Kaichou gave you some time to think about it, then," Kiba said. Labrys nodded. "Still, I thought both you and Aigis-san are pretty firm about your decision to not get turned into Devils."

"I'm not my sis…" Labrys said softly. Kiba frowned. "It's just… something occurred t'me a while ago, when Kaichou offered me that…" She stopped walking and looked up. "I got nothing to lose if I were to join her peerage since I was never a human to begin with. It should be logical, right?"

Kiba recalled Aigis telling him and the rest of the Occult Research Club that she would rather not distance herself from humanity to become something else despite not being a human to begin with, because it was something that she'd rather keep for herself no matter what. Both Aigis and Labrys had the same outlook, yet each of them reached a different conclusion regarding the offers given to them.

Kiba was amazed by how lifelike these mechanical maidens could be, and that's saying something, considering that he himself was a Devil, albeit a reincarnated one.

"Well… it's just something that only you can decide, Labrys-san," Kiba said to the mechanical maiden beside him. "I mean, you've got a choice given to you, unlike some of us…" There was a sad smile on the boy's face as he said that. "I don't know if Aigis-san already told you this, but… I didn't have a choice about me turning into a Devil, just like Issei and Asia…"

"You died?" Labrys asked.

Kiba chuckled by how blunt Labrys' tone was. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. I'm not quite sure, though." He ran his fingers through his blond hair and said, "Still, I'm glad that Buchou found me that night." He smiled wryly. "After all, I like living just like the next guy…" His tone was lighthearted when he said that to Labrys.

"Well, can't argue with ya there," Labrys said, smiling as well.

"Still…" Kiba's expression turned serious. "About tracking down this Freed Sellzen, it's dangerous. From the sound of it, he's not someone to be trifled with."

Labrys' expression mirrored Kiba's as she spoke, "I know. Still, if he's not stopped, there'll be more of his victims in the future…"

"Even so, be careful, Labrys-san," Kiba told her before he sighed. "If only we're not dealing with this upcoming Rating Game, Buchou may be able to help you to take down this Freed guy…"

"Huh," Labrys tilted her head after hearing that from Kiba.

And so, Labrys and Kiba ended up having small talks as they headed to Labrys' apartment. Kiba was gracious enough to accompany her, even though it was unnecessary, with Labrys being a super fighting robot who could use the manifestation of her other self to fight her enemies.

When they finally arrived at the apartment, Labrys turned to Kiba and said, "Well, thanks a bunch for accompanying me, Kiba-kun, even though it's not really necessary. I can handle stuff by myself just fine, y'know?" Labrys informed cheekily.

"It never hurts to be cautious, right?" Kiba said. "Plus, walking all by yourself isn't very fun, right?"

"Alright, fair point ya got there," Labrys smiled resignedly. Kiba was right. She'd prefer talking to someone on her way home instead of walking home alone. "Still, I'm hopin' I'm not botherin' ya, Kiba-kun."

"Nah, it's fine…" Kiba said, waving her off. "So, let's meet again tomorrow."

Labrys nodded, smiling happily. "Yup, see ya tomorrow, Kiba-kun."

So, Labrys watched Kiba walk away, heading back to his own place before she went to the apartment she shared with her sister, Aigis. When she reached the door, it was locked.

"Ah, she's probably sleepin' already," Labrys muttered to herself. ASWs like her wouldn't require sleeps, but they could go to 'sleep-mode'. The ponytailed mechanical maiden dug into her pocket before she took out the key of the apartment. After unlocking the door, she opened it and stepped into the apartment.

Inside, she could see that Aigis had already put herself in 'sleep-mode'. Her eyes were closed. Her earpieces seemed to be glowing, indicating that despite being in sleep-mode, she was still functional enough to be awakened in case of emergency. But Labrys didn't feel like disturbing her sister.

Labrys took off her uniform, which was already cleaned back then, thanks to Sona. But, there were two punctured holes on her dress shirt; one at the front and one at the back, courtesy to Freed who stabbed her with his sword. Being an ASW, such damage did not even inconvenience her, but some parts inside her were damaged. She needed to have Fuuka fix those for her the next day.

After taking off her uniform, she also prepared to put herself in 'sleep-mode' just like her sister. She could set the time to wake up the next day. It was something that a human couldn't do.

Closing her eyes, Labrys' vision dimmed as her consciousness faded.

* * *

She found herself at the seaside of Yakushima. She knew that this was a dream that she always had. In this dream, she was like a real human being, with real flesh rather than being made of metal bits and wires. In this dream, she could feel the sensation of the wind gently blowing on her skin. She enjoyed the feeling.

For Labrys, this place was her safe place. It was a place where she retreated to whenever she ever had a hard time in the real world.

**"So, our little ditherer returns, huh?"**

Labrys clicked her tongue when she heard the condescending voice of herself speaking to her behind her. She turned on her heel and saw her own doppelganger, grinning like a madwoman like she always was, being the manifestation of Labrys' negative emotions and thoughts. Her body was emanating a purple, sickly aura while her eyes were glowing golden. The glow in her eyes and the twisted grin on her face was enough to make the doppelganger to appear monstrous and grotesque.

One of her functions as an ASW was that the information of all Shadows she had fought and encountered before was recorded in her database. That would also include her own Shadow, despite the fact that her Shadow had already transformed into her Persona, Ariadne. While having the information of all the Shadows she had encountered before was convenient for the sake of her growth and improvement, the Shadow would take over her own body under certain circumstances. At that time when she fought Freed, her own Shadow resurfaced, taking over her own body.

"Whaddaya want?" Labrys asked in annoyance to her own Shadow. Her body was no longer made of flesh, but reverted back to its original machine shape. In her hand was her giant axe, the labrys, the weapon that was also her namesake.

**"'Whaddaya want?' What's with that question? You already know why I'm here…"** Shadow Labrys said as her grin grew wider. **"After all, I am you…"**

Labrys gritted her teeth before she spoke, "I know that…" She looked down.

Shadow Labrys snorted and then said, **"You know that, and yet you're too afraid to make even a decision for yourself."** The Shadow smiled cruelly and mockingly at Labrys. **"I mean, what do you have to lose? You're not even a human being to begin with, for crying out loud!"**

Labrys bit her lower lip. "I… I know that…" She clenched her fists. "Ya don't have to remind me…"

**"Still… why do you hesitate?"** Shadow Labrys asked, drawing herself closer to the original. Her eyes were looking straight into Labrys' as she went closer to her. **"I bet there's nothing going to change inside you if you were to become a Devil!"**

"W-we don't even know if ASWs like me can change into a Devil to begin with!" Labrys reasoned.

**"A fair point, but who are you to decide that?"** It should be impossible for someone to have such a face-splitting grin on their face, but Shadow Labrys managed it without even making a hassle. **"Have you forgotten how many times you encountered miracles? All those things that should be impossible were made possible!"** She drew her face even closer to Labrys', their noses were practically touching each other. **"And you're telling me it's impossible for you to become a Devil?"**

"S-still, Mitsuru-san not gonna allow it!" Labrys protested, pulling her face back.

**"Her thoughts and opinions are irrelevant…"** Shadow Labrys said, holding out her hand and stroked Labrys' cheek. **"All that matters is that whether you want it… or not…"**

"I…" Labrys was visibly trembling. "H-how about sis? W-will she be fine with this?"

**"Why should you care about her opinions?"** The doppelganger said, still smirking maliciously. **"It's her own choice to decline the offer! Her choice is also irrelevant!"**

"I… I…" Labrys was unable to come up with anything to counter her own doppelganger.

**"Well then…"** The doppelganger hefted her large battleaxe with one hand, twirling it a few times without difficulty before she assumed a fighting stance. **"Now it's up to me to pick up the slack for you. What a troublesome bitch you are…"**

Her malicious aura thickened before a large, humanoid creature with a bovine head emerged behind her. The creature let out a roar, and everything around them cracked. Their surroundings then changed from the seaside into an abandoned laboratory with body parts of broken Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons could be seen scattered everywhere.

"I-I ain't got no time for this!" Labrys protested. She had already accepted her own flaws and shortcomings, and she didn't want to face her Shadow again, not after understanding herself.

**"You are not forever the same, me. People change. Whatever the change may be, I'll make sure to beat it out of you so you can see it clearly…"** Shadow Labrys said before she shouted, **"Asterius, crush her!"**

Labrys barely had time to react as she erected a barrier that was woven by the strings her Persona conjured. "A-Ariadne!" A giant fist slammed against the shield she created, and the impact from the fist hitting the shield was enough to generate a shockwave that almost blew Labrys off her feet.

Still, Labrys managed to steady herself before she tightened her grip on the handle of her great axe. With a cry, she immediately undid the shield and jumped towards the giant extended fist before her. She used Asterius' fist as a jumping board before she launched herself towards her doppelganger.

Their battleaxes clashed against each other, with each strike causing a ripple in the air. As both of them were in a dreamscape, the clashes of their weapons generated some kind of disturbance in the dreamscape. If they were to go all out, the dreamscape would eventually collapse, and her dream would end.

But neither of them seemed to have any intention of ending the dream as they continued swinging their weapons against each other, each strike hard and brutal. The huge bovine monster, Asterius, swung its giant fists wildly in order to take down Labrys' Persona, Ariadne, but the string-bearer evaded all its attack with such grace and fluidity before she launched dozens of blades created from the interwoven strings onto the monster. Asterius roared when Ariadne managed to land a few hits with her blades which then unraveled to create smaller blades. Ariadne then used the smaller blades to inflict more damages on the bovine monster.

As for both Labrys and her doppelganger, they continued trading blows and swings, with each attack ferocious and wild. Their movements seemed to create ripples and rifts within the dreamscape, and it would eventually collapse if they were to continue any further.

**"I am a Shadow, the true self!" **Shadow Labrys yelled, tearing a huge rift within the dreamscape with a swing of her greataxe. **"I will continue beating the shit out of you until you see the truth! I will continue crushing you within your dream until you realize what you actually want!"**

"Ngh!" Labrys grunted as she was forced to defend herself from her doppelganger's relentless attacks. She should be able to defeat this copy of herself with ease, considering that she had its information stored within her database, but she was unable to muster her strength to actually defeat it.

Could it be that she didn't want to actually find out what she actually wanted? Was she really that afraid of actually trying to learn what she truly wished for?

**"Looks like you've got a gist of it…"** Shadow Labrys sneered as Asterius emerged from behind her in its full size. The bovine behemoth was coated in a malevolent aura. Its glowing eyes were looking straight at Labrys. **"But it's not enough. Now, descend to the abyss!"** Asterius' fists were coated in black flames before it brought its flaming fists down onto Labrys.

And with that, the dreamscape collapsed, and Labrys could only see darkness before her.

* * *

Slowly, Labrys opened her eyes. She had set the timer for her to wake up. As she reactivated all her motor functions, she sighed as she picked herself up.

"That was one hella strange dream, innit?" Labrys muttered to herself. She was about to prepare herself to go to school when she saw her sister, Aigis. Instead of wearing her school uniform, Aigis was wearing her Chesterfield longcoat. "Sis, you're not going to school?" Labrys asked, confused.

"Ah…" Aigis looked at Labrys and smiled. "I forgot to mention this to you, but… I'll be joining Rias Gremory and her peerage for an intensive training session for their upcoming Rating Game. So, I will be skipping school for the time being."

Labrys frowned. "Skippin' school? Wait a minute! Sis, are ya turning into a delinquent now?"

Aigis gave her sister a confused look. "Delinquent? What are you talking about, sister? With Gremory-san's assistance, I am allowed to do so. There should be no problem for me to do that, shouldn't it?"

"Umm… still, this Rating Game?" Labrys inquired. "What's it all about?"

Aigis gave an abridged explanation about the things that happened to Rias, including her engagement as well as the upcoming unofficial Rating Game. Labrys nodded a few times as she absorbed and digested the new information.

"I see…" Labrys mused. "So, ya end up offering to help train 'em instead of joining 'em, huh?"

"Indeed," Aigis nodded. "That is the least I can do for help them without compromising my belief." Aigis smiled blandly. "I shall be going now, Labrys. Please take good care of yourself while I am gone," she told her sister.

"Umm… sis?" Labrys stopped Aigis before she walked out of the apartment.

"Yes?" Aigis looked at Labrys' face.

"Sis… can I ask ya something?"

"Ah, please do, sister."

"Well… umm…" Labrys looked down as she tried to word her question. Aigis looked at her sister in bewilderment.

"Something wrong, Labrys?" Aigis asked, seemingly concerned.

"It's… it's nothin'…" Labrys shook her head. "Sorry, sis. I didn't mean to bother ya or anything…"

"…I see," Aigis looked unconvinced, but she smiled and said, "Very well. Please take care, sister. I'll be back this weekend."

"Take care of yourself too, sis," Labrys told her sister. "Send my regards to Issei-kun and the others, alright?"

"I will,' Aigis replied, nodding her head.

After bidding her farewell, Aigis left the apartment, leaving Labrys alone. Now left alone, Labrys just stood there for a while before she looked at her metallic palm.

"Maybe my Shadow is right…" Labrys muttered to herself before she clenched her fist. "I really can't decide on anythin' when it truly matters. I really am a ditherer…"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello, it's me, Prince Arjuna. It's been a year since the last time I updated this fic, right? I'm so, so sorry about that, guys. Well, I'm a teacher's now, by the way. I've been teaching for two months now. And I hope you guys like this chapter. For the next chapter, it will focus on the DxD side of the story, so don't worry about me forgetting that, because even though Aigis is the main character of this story, this story is still a crossover between Persona 3 and High School DxD.

Also, special thanks for **Sorata Shioya** for beta-reading this chapter. You're cool, man. So, I hope you like this chapter, dear readers. Reviews are highly welcomed, and a huge influx of reviews may help me to refuel my creativity juice and give me motivation to actually write the next chapter.

Stay tuned for the next update, **Chapter 22: Training Montage.** Until then, farewell.

Prince Arjuna (2016)


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